


Deep Water

by 29PiecesOfMe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angelic Grace, Brotherhood, Case Fic, Castiel Whump, Crossover, Crossover With Fantasy Book Series, Crowley Makes a Brief Appearance, Dean Whump, Elemental Magic, Family Feels, Gen, Guest Character from Crossover Series, Hunter Castiel, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, No Romance, Pagan Gods, Post-Season/Series 11 AU, Protective Castiel, Protective Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-14 09:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9173680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/29PiecesOfMe/pseuds/29PiecesOfMe
Summary: The Darkness is gone, and things have settled enough for the boys to tackle what should be a simple case. But with humans drowning at the local lakes, the Winchesters begin to suspect it's only one piece of a much bigger problem, and this time, the boys might finally be in over their heads. Case!fic, post-S11 AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello, friends! :D Happy 2017! I'm back with another AU case!fic, set after season 11. I started writing this before I knew where the show was going to take things with Mary Winchester being back, so to keep things simple, I didn't include her in this fic. Assume that she was never brought back by Amara. ^_^ Also, no British Men of Letters, so Sam wasn't shot and kidnapped at the end of S11.
> 
> For this fic, I wanted to try something a little different... a crossover. I've never written one before, but I'm reading a series of books called Elemental Magic that I absolutely adore, and (being the crazy SPN fan that I am) my first thought was "how would Sam and Dean react to this?" So naturally, I had to write a fic and find out! ^_^ You don't need to have read the series to understand this fic, because I wrote in all the necessary explanations. If you're interested though, it's by a writer named Angela Wallace. Kinda has the same feel as Avatar: the Last Airbender or Charmed.
> 
> There's no pairings in this AU. I don't own anything related to SPN or Elemental Magic! Thanks as always to my marvelous beta reader and cheerleader, Aini NuFire. Enjoy ^_^

"Okay, so remind me again why we're not heading towards California for some well-earned time off right now?" Dean grumbled as he pointed the Impala down the highway— _away_ from the sun and sand he'd been hoping for. After all, the Darkness was gone and the world somehow wasn't in peril at the moment.

One vacation. Just one. Was he really asking for so much?

Sam certainly seemed to think so, judging by the bitch-face he was shooting Dean from the passenger seat.

"Because we still have work to do. Remember? Saving people? Hunting things?"

"The family business," Dean agreed. He sighed, lifting one hand from the steering wheel to gesture at the world in general. "Why can't they just save themselves, huh? Just for one week. Hell, just one _day_ off!"

Sam snorted, but didn't try to come up with an answer. Twisting in his seat, he asked, "Hey, heard from Cas at all today?"

"Nah." Dean sighed again. They actually _had_ taken a full month off, after Amara. Not because the hunters were on a break, though. The minute things had calmed down, the brothers had put everything else on hold to focus all attention on their angel instead. Even though bearing Lucifer hadn't done any permanent physical damage—if anything, Cas's grace seemed to have been strengthened from the Devil's powerful presence—it had been a torment that he couldn't just bounce back from.

Psychologically, the angel had been scarred by his brother, but the Winchesters knew that the archangel was not the only one to blame. The cold, hard truth was that it was largely their fault Castiel had ever said yes to begin with.

Well, they would never let anything like this happen again. They were never going to let their best friend, their _brother_ , feel like the only way he would ever be "useful" to them was by sacrificing himself.

It had taken a lot of work and all of Cas's inner strength, but both Dean and Sam felt like the angel was starting to act like his old self again at last. He finally seemed to trust that they genuinely wanted him to stay with them, and that they would do anything they could to help him on his quest to rebuild diplomatic channels between Heaven and Earth.

Not that Dean was much help when it came to "diplomacy", but he'd at least stayed involved, always asking Cas how things were progressing. The angel still lived at the bunker between tenuous visits to Heaven, and called often when he was gone, but the hunters no longer felt like they needed to be worried about him and his state of mind. He _knew_ he was worthy, cared about, and one of them.

But apparently this major victory wasn't enough to earn them one lousy trip to the beach.

A hard-rock tune filled the interior of the car. Dean fished around in his jacket pocket to retrieve his cell phone and glanced at the display before looking at Sam with a grin. "Speak of the devil."

"Too soon, Dean."

Rolling his eyes, the hunter punched the button to accept the call and flipped on the speaker. "Cas, how's it going?"

"Dean," the angel greeted him. "I suppose that depends on what you mean specifically."

Damn, it was good to have him back. Dean rolled his eyes again while Sam snickered and called,

"Hey, Cas! Let's start with where are you?"

"Back on Earth temporarily. Heaven doesn't get a cell signal," Cas explained. "But I should return soon. Several of the main leaders are having a meeting about the organizational structure and hierarchy. I've been invited to sit in."

"Hey," Sam exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "That's good news!"

"Yeah, I bet that one douchebag was just thrilled about that," Dean added with a snort. "What's-his-name, Matthias. He still giving you grief?"

Cas made a strangled sound of frustration. "Yes. Matthias continues to try and persuade anyone who will listen that I'm not to be trusted and shouldn't be in Heaven at all. Fortunately, voices like his are becoming fewer."

Dean shook his head, trading a scowl with Sam. "You want me and Sammy to give him a talking to in a dark alley somewhere?"

"Dean, you know how I feel about violence towards-"

"I'm kidding, Cas." For a warrior, their angel was big on the whole "peaceful solutions" thing. It irritated Dean to hear about the feathered dicks causing Cas trouble, but at the same time he was just happy to know what was going on in the angel's life. After so long of more or less forgetting about him whenever he flew off, they were determined to do better.

"Well, just let us know what we _can_ do to help," Sam offered now, echoing Dean's thoughts.

"I will…. Thank you." They could hear the smile in Cas's voice; it felt good. "Where are you? It sounds like you're in the car."

"Yeah, we might have caught a case," Dean explained. "Not sure yet. We're heading to check it out right now."

"You are? What is it?"

In the passenger seat, Sam leaned over and grabbed a manila folder, flipping it open to scan the contents once again. "Not much to go on," he admitted. "There's a lake not far from here that was on the news last night. Apparently, all the fish in the entire lake seem to have just _died_ , all at once, and there were four bodies found. Now there's reports of a couple more missing who were supposed to be out there fishing yesterday."

"Is it possible it's just a naturally occurring toxin?" the angel pointed out.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, but there was one witness, some kayaker who hadn't actually gotten in the water yet. He swears up and down that the dead fishermen were drowned by some lady standing in the middle of the lake."

"Which, by the way, is over fifty feet deep," Sam added.

"That does sound more like a supernatural problem," Cas agreed. "You're thinking a water monster, or perhaps a spirit?"

"We're not sure yet," Dean admitted. "Could be lots of things. Could be nothing. Maybe the guy's just crazy."

"Do you want help? Perhaps I could be of assistance."

The hunters traded looks again. For now, they were still trying to be careful when it came to this subject of Cas being useful, and Dean grudgingly gestured for Sam to field this one. He would know what to say that wouldn't make it sound like they doubted Cas could help. Or that what they needed should come first. Or that the angel only mattered as long as he _could_ help.

Sam, to his credit, sounded completely laidback and casual as he replied, "Eh, you know we always appreciate your help, but this meeting of yours sounds way more important. And we don't even know if this _is_ a case. We'll handle this and you take care of Heaven, and we'll meet up at the Bunker later to trade stories. I wanna hear how it goes."

Dean approved. Giving his brother a nod, he added out loud, "And hey, don't take any crap from Matthias. I know you're turning all diplomat, but Obi-Wan still kicked ass when the situation called for it."

"Obi-Wan was also betrayed by the Jedi he was closest-"

"Oh, come on, you know what I mean!" Dean said with a groan, while Sam bit his lip to keep from laughing. It still threw them off a bit when Cas actually understood the pop culture references that Dean used.

At any rate, they could both hear the smile in the angel's voice as he said, "Thank you, Dean. Be careful. I'll be there whenever I can."

"Roger. We'll leave a light on."

"Good luck, Cas!" Sam added, before Dean ended the call.

The older hunter felt himself relax, relieved at how much better things were between the three of them these days. If only they had been doing this all along… but it was too late for regrets, and there was no changing the past. Wishing they could was just a waste of energy. All they could focus on was now.

And speaking of now… it was time to get their head in the game, figure out if there was a case, and solve it in time for supper. They had a witness to find.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Sam said, frowning over his open notebook at the kayaker who had claimed to witness the murders. "You're saying a woman was standing in the _middle_ of the lake… and that's how those men drowned, she killed them."

"Look, I _know_ it sounds, like, _totally_ whacked out, dude." The kayaker scratched his head under the dirty bandana he wore. His expression was pleading, but also rather glazed. Sam mentally added a few more points to the theory that the guy was just crazy. It didn't help that his entire apartment smelled like pot; Sam hoped Dean finished talking to the sheriff quickly and came to rescue him.

"You're saying she was, what, on a paddle board or something?"

"No, man." The kayaker sighed. "I don't know how else to say it. I know you don't believe me. The cops didn't, why would the Feds? She wasn't standing _on_ anything, she was… I don't know."

Sam tried not to roll his eyes. "And this… this woman," he went on, for argument's sake. "What did she look like? Did she say anything? If she was just standing there, how did she reach them?"

"All I know is what I saw," the witness maintained with a stubborn frown. "It was like she kinda… _pulled_ the water closer to draw them in, y'know?" He gestured with his arms to demonstrate. "They were trying to get away, but the water just kept pushing them towards her. The waves were too strong, so… they drowned."

"Four of them. You just watched her drown four men?"

The kayaker glared at Sam, crossing his arms. "Look, buddy… I know you think I'm nuts. _I_ thought I was nuts. What I saw…" He shook his head. "It was impossible, okay? I- I thought I was…"

"Tripping on whatever you've been smoking?" Sam supplied, taking in the glazed expression again. He sighed when the kayaker swallowed and took a nervous step back. "I'm not going to bust you," the hunter said. "If you cooperate. I need you to tell me _everything_ , no matter how crazy it sounds."

Casting a quick look around, the witness leaned in closer so he could lower his voice. "Yeah, okay?" he whispered. "I thought I'd gotten a bad batch or something, and it wasn't real, so I came home. I didn't know it had actually happened until I heard about the bodies being found, and that's when I called the cops. But I'm telling you, she was there. Kept asking them where it was, and she wanted it back."

"Where what was?" Sam asked.

The kayaker shrugged. "She didn't say. And none of the guys she killed seemed to know. I think that's why she killed them. Hey… why _are_ the Feds here?"

"We go where we're sent," Sam said, the automatic response to the fairly common question slipping easily off his tongue. "Is there anything else you can tell us? What she looked like, where she went?"

"Well… really pretty. Dark hair. Kinda too far away to see anything else, and I didn't wanna get close. I don't know where she went, dude. The police don't believe that she was ever here. But I _know_ what I saw. I'm not stoned—well, I _am_ , but she was _real_."

"Right," Sam deadpanned. He was starting to feel more and more relieved that they'd convinced Cas not to come. He would have hated for the angel to miss out on something so important just for this wild goose-chase. The hunter flipped his notebook closed and nodded to the witness. "Be sure you're available for more questions if we have them."

The shaggy man shrugged again as Sam nodded and made his escape out of the reeking apartment. To his relief, the Impala was just pulling up into the drive. The hunter hurried over to the passenger side and slid into the car, giving his brother an exasperated look.

"So what did the witness say?" Dean asked, before wrinkling his nose and leaning away from Sam. "Whoa… let me guess: stoner."

Sam lifted an arm to his face to sniff. Great, now _he_ smelled like weed. The hunter groaned. "Good guess. He still thinks it was some beautiful, dark-haired woman who drowned them."

"I'm sure it was," Dean said with a snort. "Starting to think this one's a wash. Still don't get the fish, though."

" _Something_ obviously happened," agreed Sam, as Dean turned the car back onto the road. "But like Cas said, maybe it's just some kind of… you know, toxin or something. I've never heard of a ghost or a monster doing something like this."

"Yeah, me either. Sheriff thinks it's some kind of hazard waste seeping into the lake. Which sucks… but not our kind of problem. There's some wildlife management whatever that came to take samples, so I guess it's taken care of. I say we hit the road, head for the beach!"

Sam couldn't help but smirk at his brother's enthusiasm and hopefulness. The beach _was_ sounding better and better. But they still had to rule out every possibility. "We're already here. Might as well at least go check for EMF just to be sure," he suggested, stowing the notebook in his inner jacket pocket. "And maybe by the time we're done, Cas will be back." Sam just hoped their angel was having a more successful time of things.

Dean nodded his agreement. Once again, his phone went off with a rather obnoxious rock tune, and he took one hand off the wheel to dig for it. Sam watched with interest as the older hunter checked the number, then gave him a look.

"Agent Curry," he said by way of greeting, flipping the phone to speaker.

"Agent. It's Sheriff Warner. You said to keep you in the loop?"

The Winchesters traded looks, and Dean replied, "Yeah?"

"Just got the call. Another lake across town… same as Kansa Lake. All the fish are just dead."

"Any bodies found?" Dean asked, before rolling his eyes and adding, " _Human_ bodies?"

"One so far. We're sending a team to drag the lake right now. But here's where it gets interesting. The man who called it in? Same cockamamie story about a lady standing in the water, drowning folks."

Sam gaped at the phone, then at Dean. A single stoner tripping out was one thing, but to have two witnesses telling the exact same story? And it couldn't have been the kayaker; Sam had been talking to him when this new development was called in. Suddenly a monster attack was seeming more believable.

"You're kidding," Dean grumbled. "What the hell?"

"Wish I was. Sounds rehearsed to me," the sheriff retorted. "Might be these guys did the drowning themselves, could be looking at a killing spree. We should grab our first witness before he can attack again."

Again, Sam and Dean shot each other a quick look. Dean raised his eyebrows in question; Sam was the one who'd done the interview, so he was the one who would know if the guy had a killer vibe. The younger Winchester shook his head.

That seemed good enough for Dean, as he replied, "The only thing that guy was guilty of is not having a prescription for whatever he's self-medicating with. It's not him. I'm heading to Kansa Lake right now with my partner, to get a feel for things. Still sealed off, right?"

"Right. I've got a unit stationed at the turn-off for the main parking lot."

"Alright, we'll be in touch."

Dean hung up and stuffed the phone back into his pocket with a huff. "I'm never gonna get my trip to the beach," he grumbled under his breath. "This had better be something, not just some crazy wild-goose chase."

Sam ignored him, his mind racing. Two lakes, opposite ends of the town, within a day of each other. Was it possible there was a natural explanation for this? An underground chemical leak of some kind could certainly explain the lakes, but then why weren't people dying all over town? Wouldn't it have gotten into the _whole_ water supply?

"So, what do you think?" he asked out loud, brow furrowing in thought.

"I don't know, man. Ghost woulda made sense in _one_ lake, but how would it travel to the other? Demons don't drown people. Witches… nah, that doesn't make sense, either."

"Some kind of water spirit?" Sam suggested. "Maybe even a goddess of some kind?"

"What would a water spirit or goddess be doing in some tiny lake outside some podunk town? And why kill the fish?" Dean argued with a frustrated grimace. "This is making less sense."

Yeah, it was. Sam shook his head as they piled into the car, already digging out his phone while Dean turned the engine over and pointed them across town. If it _was_ some kind of water spirit they were looking at, or a pagan deity, they would have to narrow it down in order to figure out how to kill it. For a moment, his thumb hovered over the call button, considering whether or not to call Cas and ask him if he knew of anything like that.

But Cas was busy, and Sam didn't want the angel to feel obligated to drop everything and come to their assistance, as all the other angels had accused him of constantly doing.

No, they would figure this out on their own. Switching over to the Internet instead, Sam buried his attention in the quest for some piece of lore that would help them on their hunt.


	2. Chapter 2

The lake sat a good twenty minutes from the stoner guy's house, giving Sam some time to do his research thing. Usually, the kid was a whiz at pulling out some arcane piece of lore after a bit of Googling. So naturally this occasion would be the exception.

"What do you mean, there's nothing?" Dean groused as he turned down a side road, following a brown sign for Kansa Lake. "Nothing as in… nothing?"

"As in, nothing at all. There's no lore about mass fish killing, and the stories about monsters drowning people are mostly related to mermaids." Sam stuffed his phone back into his pocket in disgust, as Dean scoffed.

"Mermaids don't live in fresh water. There's no way one ended up here, and even _less_ chance that it just got out and hopped across town to a second lake."

"Obviously. So… like I said, there's nothing. At least nothing that I can find without doing some more heavy duty research."

Yeah, that sounded like a blast. Dean decided to be inconveniently busy with something else for a while once they got back to the Bunker. He shrugged as he neared the next turn, currently blocked by a deputy's car. A wooden sawhorse stood to block what the cruiser didn't, plastered with a sign warning that the lake was closed to visitors. A deputy climbed out of the car as Dean approached, holding up a hand.

The hunter slowed the Impala to a stop and rolled the window down.

"Agents Curry and Arthur," he stated, voice full of authority, before the deputy could say anything. "We're following up on the situation here."

The deputy blinked, eyes roaming the car—as far from standard issue as it could be. "FBI? What-"

"Already talked to the sheriff," Dean added as he fished out his fake badge to flash in the deputy's face before stuffing it back away. "So if you'll just let us through…"

"Deputy McGhee," the man identified himself. He didn't move aside. "No offense, but… how is this a federal matter?"

"We're looking into the possibility of a serial unsub," Sam answered, the lie easy and casual. "Saw something similar in Nebraska."

"Including the fish?" McGhee asked with an incredulous scowl. "How're they doing that?"

"No idea," Dean shot back. "That's why we're still investigating."

"Deputy, what about the missing people?" Sam asked. He had to duck his head a bit to see the deputy, who still didn't seem satisfied with the whole situation. "Have they turned up yet? Or any more gone missing?"

McGhee sighed and ran a hand through his hair, twisting to glance at the stretch of woods hiding the lake from view. "No way to tell if there's any more," he pointed out. "There weren't any cars in the parking lot unaccounted for. But this is a big lake and there's other access points. Lots of campers in the woods, plenty of fishing holes if you don't mind the hike. We did a quick perimeter check, but it's hard to know if anyone _should_ be where they aren't."

That made sense. It also made the job harder, not knowing for sure how many vics were missing, whether they were still alive or not.

"Alright," Dean said. "We'll need you to stay here at the roadblock so no one else gets close enough to go missing. My partner and I will do another sweep and see what we can find."

McGhee raised an eyebrow. His gaze dropped to the FBI outfits the two were wearing, which, granted, were not the kind of clothes Dean would have preferred to hunt in. The deputy didn't comment, though. He merely shrugged and grabbed the wooden sawhorse, pulling it out of the way to grant them access down the winding, gravel road towards the lake.

Dean gave him a vague wave as he drove through. In the rearview, he watched the deputy shift the sawhorse back into position, hopefully assuring that there wouldn't be any more civvies crashing the party. Satisfied, the hunter turned his full attention back to the task at hand.

The closer they got to the lake itself, the stronger the stench of dead fish became. The scent of the pines couldn't come close to covering that up, and Dean wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You'd think we wouldn't even notice the smell anymore," he muttered under his breath. Death was one thing… fish was another.

Beside him, Sam smirked, but didn't comment. Instead, he pointed out, "We still don't know what we're up against, or how to kill this thing."

The older hunter snorted. "So we'll do what we always do, and make it up as we go."

"Because that's worked so well in the past."

Dean shrugged and pulled into the parking lot, gravel crunching under the Impala's wheels. He got out and slammed the door, breaking the silence that hovered over the lake. The hunter couldn't help but shiver a bit at the ominous feel the stillness gave the place. Ordinarily, he would never let them go into a situation so unprepared, but there was nowhere else to look for clues about what they were up against.

"How do you want to handle this?" Sam asked, watching the lake and the hundreds of dead, bobbing fish with a pinched expression. "Split up? Looks like a lot of ground to cover."

Dean thought it over for a second, then shook his head. "Too risky if she's still here," he decided. He looked up and down the shore; from where they stood, the area was mostly wide open, but farther along he could see where the water turned inland, hiding the bank behind a thick forest of trees. The opposite shore didn't look too far away, but if he remembered correctly, this was a long, skinny lake, full of isolated coves that anyone could be hiding in.

"You know," Sam pointed out. "If there's any chance the missing people are still alive somewhere, we can't kill this monster yet. She might be the only way to find them."

"Hate to break it to ya, Sammy," Dean said, popping the trunk and grabbing a machete and a shotgun. "If it _is_ a goddess or a water spirit, odds are we really _can't_ kill her yet. We'll just keep her under wraps at the bunker until she tells us what she is so we know which ritual to gank her with. Grab those manacles with the sigils."

The younger hunter gave the chains a doubtful look, but pulled them out of the trunk with a metallic clanking. "Think these will hold a pagan goddess?"

Dean shrugged. "Guess we're about to find out." But hell, anything that could hold an angel, the world's most dramatic witch, or the King of Hell certainly ought to at least slow a goddess down. He dug out the EMF meter and switched it on. If only it would light up, if only it was just a ghost after all… a nasty, lake-hopping ghost… But that would have meant luck was on their side, which just never happened. The meter remained frustratingly quiet, and the hunter stuck it back in his pocket with a sigh.

"Worth a shot," he muttered.

Sam's mouth twisted in disappointment, but he nodded. The odds of "goddess"—otherwise known as "worst case scenario"—were steadily climbing. Naturally.

The two hunters made their way down to the lake shore, Dean gripping the machete tightly as his eyes continued to rove the surroundings in search of a threat. _Probably_ the monster had abandoned this lake to move on to the second, and there was no need to worry. _Probably_.

Still, the Winchesters moved as silently as possible, stepping over the already decaying carcasses that carpeted the rocky shore. The stink was becoming over-powering, but the thought of victims still alive out here somewhere forced the two to keep going. Soon, they had lost sight of the parking lot as the shore turned in to a secluded, wooded cove. Neither of them spoke, looking for anything that would offer some kind of explanation for everything. The cove turned into another outcropping, which in turn led to another cove.

No wonder the sheriff hadn't been able to get a solid idea if anyone else was missing, Dean thought with frustration. There were several signs of old campsites, some close to the water's edge and some a few yards into the woods, but no way of telling how recently they had been occupied. This was starting to feel like a waste of time.

"I don't see anything," Sam whispered, his tone echoing Dean's own aggravation. "Think they're still alive?"

"Honestly? Kinda doubt it." Dean pushed a branch aside with the flat of his machete, jumping over a mound of fish. "Man, this is gross. This is worse than the sewer. Do you-"

The hunter cut off as Sam grabbed his arm and jerked him backwards with a sharp intake of breath. Though it took Dean by surprise, he immediately followed his brother's lead, letting himself be dragged down behind a fallen tree whose wide trunk offered some cover from the opening ahead. He looked at Sam, who put a warning finger to his lips.

Dean nodded, hardly daring to breathe, as the two hunters pushed themselves up just enough to peer over the rim of the tree trunk. Through the foliage that screened them, Dean could just make out a form slipping out of the woods towards the water's edge.

Beside him, Sam clutched the manacles, face set in a focused frown; it was a beautiful, dark-haired, young woman, exactly as the witnesses had described. Dean wanted to rush her right then and there, but he forced himself to wait. After all, this _could_ just be a camper, coming to investigate the truly god-awful smell. Even as he considered this unlikely coincidence, though, Dean's grip tightened on his machete.

For a moment, the woman just stood, looking at the lake. She was angled away enough that the hunters couldn't see her face clearly, but her posture seemed rigid and tense. No one moved. Dean felt adrenaline starting to kick his heartbeat up, but still he didn't attack. Not yet.

When she suddenly turned, Sam and Dean ducked back behind the tree, barely breathing. They waited for a beat of silence before daring to peer out again. The young woman was looking up and down the lake furtively as though to be sure that she was alone. Dean exhaled softly in relief as she turned back toward the water, evidently satisfied that no one else was around. Then, she stretched a hand towards the lake… and a stream of water rose from the surface.

The hunters went rigid. Dean's eyes widened, frozen as he watched the water defy all gravity to hover in the air a few feet away from the woman. It flowed back and forth in small swirls as she moved her hands, manipulated by her power. Shit, _definitely_ a goddess, definitely the one they were after! The brothers traded a swift glance, both wearing the same mask of grim determination. This could be their only chance; time to see if those manacles worked on something this strong.

Dean gave a sharp nod, then both hunters exploded out of hiding, rushing the goddess. She spun towards them as the water fell back into the lake. Eyes widening and mouth opening in shock, she barely had time to raise her hands before Dean had tackled her to the ground.

"Sam!" he shouted, struggling to pin her arms while she scrambled madly to get free. "Get the chains on her!"

The goddess gasped, huge eyes finding Sam. "No!" she cried, struggling even harder. The water was becoming choppy, splashing up in furious waves even as she thrashed to get free. "Help! Somebody help me!"

Dean's eyes narrowed, not remotely taken in by the show of fear. Taking a chance, he let go with one hand to cover her mouth, while his other hand tightened its grip. Sam dove down next to them, trying to fasten one of the manacles around the goddess's wrist. She managed to wrest it loose, though, hand shooting out towards the lake. Dean wasn't ready for the stream of water that slammed into him like it'd been shot from a fire hose. The force of it knocked him over, giving the goddess time to wriggle out from under him and jump to her feet.

"Help!" she shouted again, backing away from the hunters with her hands extended. "Stay away from me!"

"We know what you are," Sam snarled. "If you think we're going to let you walk free…"

Her face paled, then hardened as the younger Winchester leaped towards her. Dean was still clambering to his feet when he saw a massive wave of water fly up in the air and loop around his brother. It hit him with a massive force, sending Sam tumbling into the roiling lake. The waves pushed him back, away from the shore in the complete opposite direction that waves were supposed to move. Though the hunter struggled to swim against the current, he was being swept further and further away.

"No!" Dean shouted, charging the goddess with cold, focused fury. Sam was one victim she would _not_ be drowning. There was a fierce determination in her glare, though, and she slashed her hands in Dean's direction. Jets of water hit him again and again, much more painful than he would have ever expected mere water to be. It prevented him from reaching her—in fact, it was propelling him backwards, but at least Sam was staggering back up in chest-deep water.

With a frustrated growl, Dean managed to raise the sawed-off he'd been carrying, but a blast propelled it right out of his hand. Shit. Instinctively, the hunter hefted the machete next, even though he wasn't nearly close enough to use it. Dean's eyes widened in dismay as a thin stream whistled through the air towards him, coiling around his wrist and jerking his hand so that he couldn't keep hold of the weapon. It dropped to the ground, leaving him defenseless.

"Stay… away… from… me!" the goddess shouted, each word punctuated by another blast of water that drove Dean farther back and farther away from his fallen weapons. He coughed and spluttered, raising his arms in the useless hope of protecting his face from the attacks. The hunter's feet slipped out from under him as he stepped on a slimy pile of dead fish.

Dean barely had time to panic before he'd hit the ground, landing in the shallows of the lake. One final blast directly to the chest knocked him flat into the water. All she had to do now was hold him there, and Dean was done for. Heart racing, the hunter fought to push himself back up before she could, only vaguely registering that the attacks had stopped. By the time he was sitting upright, Dean's gaze had already locked on Sam—now behind the goddess with a fallen tree limb in hand.

One blow to the back of the head and the goddess dropped to the ground. Sam stood over her, eyes wide. Both the Winchesters were breathing heavily, and neither moved as they stared at the downed woman, waiting to see if she would get back up again or if she was truly out.

After a minute had dragged on and she hadn't twitched, Dean finally struggled to his feet and splashed out of the lake. Every footstep squeaked in his waterlogged dress shoes as he slogged over to Sam.

"You alright?" the younger Winchester asked.

Dean nodded then winced, rubbing his jaw where one of the blows had landed. "You?"

"Yeah." Sam was still eyeing the goddess with suspicion. "So… that was easy."

Soaking wet, sore all over, and reeking of fish, Dean glared at his brother. Right. Easy. Though, he _was_ surprised that Sam's attack had been enough to knock the goddess out. Not that he was going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Nodding to the manacles that Sam had managed to hold on to through his sojourn into the lake, Dean said,

"Better get those on her before she wakes up."

"And pray that they work," Sam added. He dropped the club and knelt down by the woman so he could snap the cuffs around her wrists. The lake had settled down once again, returning the area to its previous state of ominous quiet. Dean hoped the roadblock was far enough away that the deputy hadn't heard the goddess's cries carrying over the water. This would be difficult to explain if he came to investigate, and found them standing over what appeared to be a defenseless young woman, putting sigiled chains on her.

"You got her?" Dean asked as his brother scooped the goddess up, hefting her bridal style in his arms.

"Got her. Let's hurry though. I'd rather not be this close when she wakes up."

Dean nodded, seconding that emotion. He grabbed the machete and shotgun, then led the way back towards the parking lot. It was slow going compared to the walk there, with wet shoes slipping on the slimy bank, both Winchesters ten pounds heavier in drenched suits. The only sound to be heard was the squelching of their feet and the soft drips the disgruntled hunters trailed in their wake. Dean shivered in the chilly air, wanting only to get back to the Bunker as fast as they could.

To their relief, there was no one else in the parking lot when they finally made it back. Dean squeaked his way to the Impala and popped the trunk again, thoroughly irritated that they had no towels and therefore had no choice but to make a watery mess in his car. Sometimes, this job asked too much of them.

"That should hold her," he grumbled, gesturing to the various sigils that lined the trunk. The hunter shifted their cooler and other odds and ends out of the way to make enough room for Sam to set the goddess inside. As soon as she was in, he slammed the lid closed and locked the trunk securely.

"Let's get outta here, I need a shower," Dean groused. "You're the mythology nerd, any chance you know who she is, from any of that?"

Sam shrugged as he wrestled his suit jacket off and wrung it out, splashing lake water onto the gravel stones of the parking lot. He looked as miserable and disgusted as Dean felt. "No clue," he said. "I'm surprised there's not more lore about her to make it obvious, as strong as she is."

Well, damn. That would be the first thing they'd have to get out of her, then. Dean nodded, also peeling off his sopping wet jacket and throwing it into the back seat in a wet heap. The hunter grimaced as he eased himself behind the wheel.

"Sorry, baby," he murmured, almost rubbing the dash but deciding he didn't want to leave the fishy smell all over everything he touched. "I'll get you cleaned out, too."

"Priorities, Dean."

Dean didn't bother responding. Starting up the engine as soon as Sam had closed the door, he pointed the Impala back up towards the road. They were going to get some funny looks from the deputy, but that was the least of Dean's concerns.

They still had no idea if the other victims were still alive, or where they were. They still had no idea who they were dealing with… or how to kill her.

This case was far from over.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam wiped at his face in disgust, then tried in futility to dry his hand on the sopping wet shirt that was plastered to him. Dean had rolled the Impala's windows down in an attempt to help them air-dry; the result of which was that Sam was now wet and cold. And everything stank.

Glaring, Dean reached into his inner pocket to fish out his cell phone, only to toss it into the back seat with a groan and snap with even more ire, "Ruined. Great, that's just friggin' great. I just got this phone, too. We're gonna gank this thing, and then we're gonna collect Cas and introduce him to Margaritaville. Friggin' goddesses, man."

With his brother in such a grumpy mood, Sam remained quiet. Fortunately, they were only about an hour from home, and they had a stash of spare phones to replace the ones that constantly ended up destroyed. The hunter sighed in relief when they finally pulled into the drive outside the Bunker, ready to put on something dry and warm.

When Sam stepped out of the car, he couldn't help but shudder as the unfriendly wind hit the rest of him, leaving the hunter even more chilled than he already was. He wasn't dripping anymore, thank goodness, but his shoes were still sloshing as he and Dean moved to the trunk in an awkward waddle. No matter how hard he tried not to touch the inside of his clothes, though, the hunter still felt miserable.

"Ready to grab her if she bolts?" Dean muttered.

Sam nodded, stopping along the side of the car so that he could intervene if necessary. Hopefully, she would still be out, but after the pain it took to catch her, they weren't taking chances. The brothers paused, then nodded to each other. Dean jerked the trunk lid open with a ferocious scowl on his face.

"Alright, you-"

A sharp shattering sound and a shout of pain cut him off. Sam's eyes widened as he saw Dean stumble backwards, holding the side of his head. Seconds later, the goddess jumped out of the trunk with a jangle of chains, a broken beer bottle clutched in one hand.

"SAM!" Dean bellowed, leaping backwards as the goddess swung at him with the jagged edge of the broken glass. The younger hunter dashed forward and grabbed her around the middle, managing to pin her arms to her sides in his grip. She screamed, starting to kick as he hoisted her all the way off the ground.

"What the- son of a bitch, that was a full case of beer, did you have to break all of them?" Dean shouted, looking in the trunk at the tipped over cooler and the shards of glass where the remaining bottles had been.

"Let me go! Let go of me, get off!"

Sam shook his head, squeezing even tighter to keep the woman from wriggling right out of his grip. "Dean, forget the beer," he snapped with a grunt. "Get the bottle away from her before she stabs me with it!" With the goddess thrashing and trying to slash the broken glass back into his leg, Sam was having a hard time holding on.

Dean dove forward, one hand pressed to his cheek as it trickled blood down his face, the other reaching to grab the goddess's wrist. He didn't make it in time. Sam shouted in pain, nearly dropping his captive as the jagged bottle managed to find his thigh. At the same time, the woman thrust her head back as hard as she could, clocking him in the nose. Sam felt it break, nearly blinding him.

They both grunted in pain, but neither was giving up. She continued to kick and squirm, and Sam was out of patience.

"Dean, grab her, damn it!"

There was a click as Dean pulled his gun, shoving it in the goddess's face. His expression was steely and pissed, no mercy to be found as he gritted out, "So help me, I will empty this into your head, you got that?"

Not that ordinary bullets were likely to kill her, but at the very least it probably wouldn't be comfortable. Fortunately, the goddess froze, allowing the older hunter to grab the makeshift weapon away. The woman leaned back away from the gun, short gasps of breath wracking her body so that Sam could feel her trembling. Dean's eyes remained cold, jaw clenched, as he snapped,

"Got her, Sammy?"

"Yeah." Sam's whole face hurt and he felt blood dripping from his broken nose, but he'd managed to hold on. "I got her, get the door." Keeping her suspended, Sam hauled the goddess to the Bunker's front door, letting Dean go ahead of him to push it open. She was still breathing heavily, still struggling a bit, but Sam managed to wrestle her down the stairs and through the hall leading towards the dungeon.

"What do you want?" the goddess demanded, sounding much shakier now that she probably realized she couldn't fight her way free. "Are you alchemists? You are, aren't you?"

That was one word for it, Sam supposed, though it was the first time he'd heard the Men of Letters referred to as such. But his face still hurt and he was pissed off, and in no mood to answer her questions. Instead, he silently gave the goddess a little shake so that she would know they meant business.

All it did was make her squirm and snap, "You won't get away with this."

"Why's that?" Dean snapped, pushing the shelves aside to reveal the dungeon room. "Your freaky friends gonna come save you? Trust me, they won't find you here."

She inhaled sharply, sounding like a choked sob, and when Sam shoved her down into the chair and locked her hands and feet in place, he saw that there was actual fear in her eyes. The younger Winchester glared at her, reaching to dab at the blood from his broken nose.

"You've been causing trouble," Dean added, wagging the still cocked pistol at the woman. "Did you think we wouldn't stop you?"

Sam glanced at his hand, seeing the blood still on his fingertips, and groaned in disgust. At least Cas would be able to fix them up without problem, provided he came home that night. Meanwhile, a hot shower and clean clothes would at least be a start. The brothers traded looks, Dean giving him a jerky nod, and the two retreated.

"Get cozy," Dean snapped behind him as they started to shove the shelf back into place. "You won't be leaving here."

The door swung to with a satisfying thud. Neither of the hunters said a word as they walked—or limped, in Sam's case—back down the hall to their separate dormitories. Sam shed his wet FBI suit with relief, mind racing furiously to come up with some answers. He'd hoped she would give him some clue as to her identity, but so far he was coming up with absolutely nothing.

Who was this woman, and how were they going to put her down?

* * *

An hour later, Dean and Sam were finally warm and dry again, and as patched up as they could manage for the moment. The older Winchester was eager to get this pagan bitch taken care of and be done with the entire thing. He met his brother outside the entrance to the dungeon. Sam was carrying his tablet, still trying to find a reference online that might indicate which goddess they were looking at.

"Showtime," Dean snapped. He shoved the door open and stormed inside without another word. The goddess's head snapped up, eyes flashing with panic.

"So, what now?" she demanded, chin tilting up with an air of bravery that didn't fully match the quaver in her voice.

Dean glared at her and held up the spare angel blade they kept. "Now you're going to tell us your name."

"It… it's Aileen."

Turning to his brother, Dean watched as Sam frowned and hurriedly typed something into his keyboard. The younger Winchester's nose scrunched up in confusion as he glanced at Dean and shook his head.

"Cute," Dean snarled, whipping back towards the goddess, who jumped. "Try again."

"W-what? My name is Aileen. Aileen Donovan. And when my family and my boyfriend find out I'm missing, they'll pick up your trail, and they'll stop you. It doesn't matter what you do to me, we won't let you get away with what you're doing."

"What we're doing?" Dean repeated. Unbelievable, the ego of these monsters. "Look, lady, four people are dead! Two are missing. Let's start with them, where are they? Did you kill them, too?"

The woman—"Aileen" or whatever—stared at them, eyes clouding over. "Kill…? Wait a minute. You think I… wait, who are you? You're the ones poisoning the water, aren't you?"

Dean stared at Aileen, thrown off by the unexpected accusation. He traded a swift look with Sam, who narrowed his eyes shrewdly.

"Nice try," Dean snapped, snorting with laughter as he pointed the blade at her. "But we know it's you. Two witnesses saw you in the middle of the lake, drowning those people. Tell us your real name, and where the last two bodies are, and we'll make it quick and painless."

Well, maybe not painless, but definitely quick.

Aileen fought against the chains, face tightening and turning grey. "You can't be serious! I never killed anyone… what's your game? Why are you doing this? I've never even been to that lake before! I'd only just gotten there when you two-"

Dean slammed the blade down point first into the table in front of the trapped goddess, making her jump. "Enough with the lies!"

Aileen stared, first at Dean, then at Sam. Slowly, her gaze returned to Dean, and she shook her head. "You… you are serious. You think it was me. But… if you're not the alchemists…"

"We're hunters," Sam retorted, pausing in his internet search. "We hunt monsters-"

"Monsters like you," Dean added.

"-and if it wasn't you, how do you explain showing up at the crime scene, matching two separate eyewitness descriptions, and attacking us with whatever magic you were using?"

"Attacking you?" Aileen echoed. "Excuse me? You literally jumped out of the bushes and tackled me! You threatened me, I was defending myself!"

Sam set the tablet down, folding his arms. "Right," he drawled. "And we're supposed to believe that someone who can do all that stuff you were doing has nothing to do with what happened to the fish, or those people who drowned."

Dean tsked, flicking the blade where it was still stuck in the table so that it rang a crystal clear note in the confined dungeon. "Not very convincing, I gotta say. So why don't you just tell us what you are and what you did?"

Silence fell again, both hunters watching Aileen, waiting. She swallowed hard, looking from one to the other again before taking a deep breath.

"Okay, listen to me," she urged. "Whatever's going on with these lakes, I'm not doing it. I'm an… I'm an elemental. A water elemental. Yes, I can control water, like you saw, but I protect the environment. I came to the lake because I got a tip about the fish, and I had a duty to come investigate."

Dean and Sam traded looks. "A duty," the older hunter repeated.

"Yes. A divine duty. Elementals were ordained by God to protect the Earth, after what happened in the Garden- it's a long story. Look, my sources told me Kansa Lake was hit yesterday, right? Call the Convention Center in Topeka. I was there all day at an oceanology convention. They can verify it."

Bluffing, Dean decided. An easy one to call, at that. An oceanology convention in Kansas? Because the heartland was just full of oceans to study, of course. Nodding at his brother to look into her flimsy story, Dean turned back to Aileen.

"Ordained by God, huh?" he asked dryly. "Then how come we've never heard of you, or elementals?"

"Because we keep our existence quiet. Not many humans know about us, and the ones that do protect our secret as carefully as we do."

Dean snorted, jerking the blade back out of the table and moving to stand over Aileen, who tried to pull back. "Well, isn't that convenient?"

"It's the truth!"

"Dean," Sam murmured, stepping back into the room and holding up his cell phone. "Something's off. She checks out. Aileen Donovan attended a full day of seminars at the conference yesterday, in Topeka. That's three hours from here."

Dean glared at his brother, his brain whirring over this new wrinkle. Everything the goddess—elemental?—had hit them with, he wasn't nearly ready to believe she wasn't responsible. "So that just means a woman with that name was there," he pointed out. "Doesn't mean this one is really who she says she is. You got something to prove who you are?"

"Well… no, not on me. I forgot my phone. But-"

"Like I said. Convenient."

"I'm telling you-"

"Sam? Dean?"

From somewhere in the Bunker, the hunters could hear Cas's voice filtering down. Sam leaned out through the shelf opening and yelled back,

"Down here, Cas!"

They heard the angel's footsteps shift, growing louder as he made his way towards them. Sam stepped aside, letting Cas through. Their best friend nodded to him, then paused, eyeing the brothers.

"What happened to your faces?"

"She did," Sam grumbled, gesturing to the goddess.

"Is this the one who-" The angel broke off as his eyes landed on Aileen, who shifted back more with a soft rattle of the chains. Cas stared at her, head tilting slightly as he frowned in confusion. "Dean, Sam," he murmured. "Why is there an elemental in the dungeon?"

Dean blinked. Looking between Cas and Aileen, he asked, "Wait… really? You can tell?"

"Yes, of course," Cas replied. He cocked his head the other direction, pursed his lips, then declared, "Water, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, definitely water. But, Dean, elementals are allies. What's going on?"

Dean was starting to wonder that, as well. He glanced over at Sam, who looked equally perplexed. Together, they turned to Aileen, who was staring wide-eyed at Cas with horror etched in her expression.

"But- You… How could you possibly know that? Who are you people?"

Cas stepped further into the dungeon, straightening just a bit, as he answered, "I'm Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord."

Aileen stared. Silence weighed heavy in the dungeon, the stillness absolute.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" she finally asked, voice rising. "There's no such thing. Not on Earth, anyway."

"Not for a long time," Cas agreed as he dipped his head in a nod. "We're here now, though. More accurately, we've come and… left again."

"No! That's ridiculous, not to mention impossible!"

Dean snorted, crossing his arms. "So let me get this straight… you were ordained by God to do all this crap, but you don't know about angels?"

Beside him, Cas shrugged. "Well, she wouldn't, Dean. The angels would never associate with elementals."

Both Winchesters and Aileen twisted towards him in confusion. The elemental frowned, lips pursing slightly. "Well… fine, then," she muttered, turning her head. Dean saw his brother biting back a smile as he muttered back,

"Trust me, in most cases, that's not really a bad thing."

Cas nodded his agreement. "Most of my kind have a rather bitter attitude when it comes to humans. Many took it as an insult that the elementals were even created. After all, protecting the Earth was our task, initially. They didn't believe they needed any help from the elementals. So, even if we were to reveal ourselves prior to the incident with the Apocalypse, it certainly wouldn't have been to you."

He paused when she turned back to look at him again, mouth open slightly. She looked torn between being wounded at the snubbing, and alarmed at the "incident with the Apocalypse". Cas smiled apologetically, then shrugged again.

"I said 'most' of my kind. Personally, I have the highest respect for your people and your work. You've done a much better job stewarding this world than the angels ever did. It's true," he added when she raised a questioning eyebrow. "People who haven't met any angels tend to assume we're much nicer than we actually are."

"He ain't kidding. The rest of them are dicks," Dean grumbled, before trading a look with Sam. His brother nodded, so Dean turned back to their angel. "Cas, are you absolutely, 100% sure about her? We found her at the scene. Hand in the cookie jar."

Aileen's gaze whipped back to Cas, eyes huge and pleading. The angel didn't even hesitate, nodding with a frown.

"And you think she's responsible for the murders?" The frown shifted to a disapproving scowl, leaving Dean feeling like a chastised child. "No. I'm positive, whoever is doing this, it isn't her. You should release her."

The brothers traded another look, but Dean could tell by Sam's expression that they'd already come to the same conclusion: if Cas was sure, that was good enough for them. Shit, which meant they'd just kidnapped an ally and probably freaked her the hell out. The longer Dean thought back on everything that had happened since they'd spotted Aileen, the more he cringed. She probably thought they were psychos.

Clearing his throat and holding out his hand so Sam could toss him the keys, the older hunter stammered, "Um, so… uh, you know, sorry about that. I mean, in our defense, you did match the description, but, uh… yeah."

The chains clanked as he unlatched them from Aileen, letting them fall to the ground. The elemental jumped to her feet and dodged backwards, pulling the chair with her as a barrier. Her eyes flitted from the hunters to Cas, obviously not quite ready to trust them after… well, basically everything. Dean took a sheepish step back to give her some space, rubbing the back of his head.

Aileen offered a clipped nod to Cas, though her wary eyes didn't leave Dean until he'd taken another step back. Addressing the angel, she said, "Thank you… Castiel?" She snorted in laughter and shook her head with an air of growing hysteria. "This can't be happening. You're not actually an angel, right?"

"Show her the wings," Sam suggested, but the warrior angel waved him off. Instead, Cas took a tentative step forward and gestured to Aileen's head.

"You've got a bad bruise," he pointed out. "I can heal that. Will you let me?"

The angel moved towards her again, and though Aileen watched him with wary eyes, she didn't try to run. She took a deep breath as Cas reached out with two fingers, laying the gentle touch on her forehead. Aileen gasped, twitching slightly and backing up with wide eyes.

"What the- how did you do that?"

Cas smiled. "I really am an angel. Not at the capacity that I once was, but at least I can do this much again."

"Angels." Rather than looking relieved, Aileen shook her head and rubbed her face with a hand. "Angels. Why does this always happen to me? First it was sea monsters, now you're telling me there's angels running around? So when you said something about the Apocalypse…"

"Oh, don't worry," Dean interjected, tossing out a casual smirk. "We took care of it."

"…Of course you did," she drawled in reply, arms crossed, but looking a little less frightened. "Am I still a prisoner?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed, holding up his hands and wincing. "Aileen, I'm really sorry for knocking you out. Um, I'm Sam. Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean."

"Yeah… got that."

Another silence fell over the dungeon as Dean bit his lip and rocked back and forth on his toes. So… this was awkward. Finally, he coughed and turned to the angel. "So, uh… as long as you're healing people…"

Cas scowled at him, his expression so severe that Dean could almost hear the scolding: This is what you get for attacking innocent women, Dean. I have half a mind to leave it. I hope you get a scar, Dean.

But if the angel actually was thinking any of that, he said nothing, merely reached a hand to each of the brothers. It was much more abrupt than usual, confirming that Cas was going to keep being pissy about this whole elemental thing, but Dean rubbed his healed face with relief as the angel suggested,

"Perhaps we should move to a more comfortable location? I still don't know all the rules of human etiquette, but I don't believe the dungeon is the right place to entertain guests."

"Right, of course," Sam said in a rush, stepping away from the door and gesturing towards it. "Aileen, can we get you some coffee or something? And maybe we can talk. If you have any ideas about what's going on with the water...?"

Still seeming hesitant to get too close, but clearly not thrilled with the idea of staying in the dungeon, Aileen skirted the edge of the room towards the door. "Uh… sure," she answered. "I know what's wrong with the water, I just don't know why it's happened."

Dean perked up at that. "Wait, you do?"

Aileen nodded. "If you let me call my dad, I'll tell you all about it."

The older hunter held up his hands, already turning to lead the way out. "Call anyone you want. I'm gonna check in with the sheriff, see what they found at the second lake." And with any luck, they'd have this wrapped up in no time.


	4. Chapter 4

Aileen hung back a bit, finding herself automatically gravitating towards Castiel, her unofficial protector. An angel. Aileen wouldn't have believed it had she not felt that healing touch for herself, and seen how he'd cleaned up the two men.

On the other hand, why not? After all the other things that she'd come to find were real, why _not_ angels, too? Aileen stole another look at Castiel, only to find that he seemed to be scrutinizing her as well. She pulled back a bit from that piercing gaze and raised her eyebrows.

Castiel tilted his head, not seeming to realize that his intensity might be uncomfortable. "I've never met an elemental before," he explained. "But I've always wanted to."

"Oh." Aileen searched for something to say, but she still wasn't quite over the fact that she was talking to an _angel_. "Well… this is… what we're like."

Probably another elemental would have kept their cool and not gotten caught, though, she thought with a touch of chagrin. Her eyes slid to the two men in front of her—Sam and Dean. Hunters, whatever that meant. They'd done a total 180 since Castiel had shown up and vouched for her, now more apologetic than psychotic, but Aileen hadn't fully ruled out the possibility that this was just a ridiculously elaborate plot.

They finally reached the large room they had dragged her through when they'd first come in. Aileen had been imagining a hunting lodge feel, with guns everywhere and walls decorated with the heads of things these people killed. Instead, the elemental noted with surprise that it was actually rather cozy, with rows upon rows of bookshelves. Several tables stood in the center of the wide open space, complete with homey, green-shaded lamps.

Huh. Aileen wouldn't have pegged these guys as particularly bookish.

The gruffer man—Dean—stepped further away, already on his phone with the local sheriff. The other guy, Sam, turned to Aileen now and held out a cell of his own.

"Um… here," he muttered, looking away with an almost bashful expression that melted Aileen's annoyance towards them a bit. "Call anyone you need to. I'm going to make some coffee, so… just make yourself at home." Sam paused, half-glanced at her like he wanted to say more, then apparently changed his mind and hurried away.

Aileen looked at the phone in her hand, waiting until Castiel moved off a bit as well before dialing the phone number for her dad's office. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello, Seamus Donovan."

"Dad, hey, it's me."

"Aileen? I don't recognize this number." There was a pause, laden with suspicion, before he continued, "Where's your phone _now_?"

"Um…" Aileen twirled a dark strand of hair, before admitting, "I forgot it at the hotel again. Some, uh… some guys let me borrow one. Dad, I have so much to catch you up on, and you're not gonna believe most of it…"

Leaving out the parts about being mistaken for some kind of monster who was killing everything, and the bit about being kidnapped and knocked out and chained to a chair in a basement, Aileen explained everything else to her dad.

"Angels? You're serious?"

"Yeah," Aileen said with a soft chuckle. "Apparently most of them aren't big fans of ours. But this one seems pretty cool." Given that he'd probably saved her life by showing up when he had.

"I guess it _shouldn't_ come as a surprise," her dad mused, though Aileen still maintained that "surprise" was a perfectly legitimate response to the revelation. "I'd be interested to meet him some day. And what about the lake? You've met up with some… what did you call them? Hunters?"

"Right."

The elemental had been hoping that perhaps her dad would have an idea what that meant, but he'd never heard of them either. She explained everything she had found thus far about the situation with the water, which wasn't as much to go on as she would have hoped. But it wasn't like this was the first time she'd gotten involved in some bizarre mysteries. And with her luck, it wouldn't be the last.

"Alright. Be careful, Aileen."

"I will. Is Colin there?" After all the insanity of the day, Aileen wanted nothing more than to hear the voice of her wonderfully _human_ boyfriend.

"No, sorry. The Coast Guard got called out for an emergency, but he said if you checked in to tell you he loves you."

Aileen felt her throat tighten a bit, missing him all the more, but she nodded. "Okay. Tell him I love him, too."

They exchanged their goodbyes, then hung up. Aileen turned, seeing that Dean had also finished his own phone call. He was standing next to Castiel in the doorway towards another long hall, talking quietly. Though Aileen didn't want to pry, the low rumble carried well in the open room and she was curious.

"That's good news, though, right?" the hunter asked. "If the other angels are telling you when the next meeting is gonna be, it must mean they're already figuring on inviting you. I thought that was what you wanted."

"It is," Castiel murmured. "And of course that part is promising. But it's what they're _not_ saying that bothers me."

"What do you mean?"

The angel sighed. "It means _until_ they call, I'm not welcome to come and go into Heaven as I please. They're masking it with a promise of invitation, but essentially they're locking me out."

Aileen frowned, not sure what all that was about but assuming it had something to do with them saying the other angels weren't very nice. She waited to see how Dean would respond, surprised when his gruff expression softened.

"Sorry, Cas. Look, you're making progress with them, that's gotta count for something, right? I mean, at least they're not trying to hunt you down and kill you now, so take the win, man. Besides, you've still got us. So even when you can't get to Heaven, at least you can come home."

Castiel looked up at Dean, and the relief and gratitude in his expression warmed Aileen's heart even more. She couldn't help smiling a bit herself, though she had no idea what they were talking about.

"Thank you, Dean," he said with a soft sigh. "Then you don't mind if I stay-"

"Cas, we've been over this," Dean cut him off. The hunter clapped a hand to Castiel's shoulder and shook his head. "We _want_ you to stay. You're our brother, remember? The bunker is as much yours as it is ours. Come and go when you want. Just give us a heads up so I can make sure there's PB&J."

Dean flashed a grin that changed his face completely, going from slightly intimidating to adorably playful. The image of him as a towering, fearsome threat began to retreat, replaced by this oddly sweet (albeit still dangerous) man who called an angel his brother and invited him for sandwiches. Aileen decided maybe this wasn't a scheme to force her guard down after all, just by the sight of the smile on Castiel's face.

"Oh, uh… you good, Aileen?" Dean called, apparently seeing that she was no longer on the phone. He cleared his throat, then pointed over his shoulder. "Okay, so I'm just gonna… go see what's taking Sam. Yeah." He disappeared in a rustle of flannel, leaving Aileen with the angel.

Not sure what else to do, shifting from one foot to the next as an awkward silence filled the room, Aileen took a deep breath.

"So," she finally said. "PB&J?"

Castiel looked away, still smiling. "When I was human for a while," he began, "it was my favorite food."

Aileen wasn't sure why that was so adorable, but she grinned and moved closer, arms crossing. "When you were human… for a while?" she repeated, not sure if she'd heard right.

"…It's a long story."

Yeah, she bet it was. Aileen was getting the impression there were a _lot_ of "long stories" with this trio. Like that "Apocalypse incident" that she really didn't want to know about.

"It 'was' your favorite food?" she asked now.

Castiel shrugged. He glanced over his shoulder, lowering his voice. "Everything tastes like molecules, as an angel. It isn't all that pleasant anymore."

With a frown, Aileen tilted her head. "Then…?"

"I never told Dean that part," Castiel explained. "But ever since he heard how much I enjoyed the sandwiches, he's always kept peanut butter and jelly here for me, without fail. Grape. Not jam. I suppose I just don't have the heart to tell him now."

Aileen bit her lip, mouth twitching. "That's actually kinda sweet."

The angel looked down, and if Aileen wasn't mistaken, he was also trying not to smile. "You should know, they really are good men," he assured her. "It's unfortunate your first meeting wasn't under better circumstances."

"I'm sure they're perfectly nice... when they don't think you're a monster."

"If it's any comfort, the first time Dean and I met face to face, he stabbed me in the heart."

Aileen blinked, not sure how that could be considered a comforting thought, but Castiel was smiling as though the memory was a fond one. She shook her head, then turned with a jolt as she spotted movement in her peripheral vision. Sam seemed to realize that she was still a little jumpy, pausing in his approach. He held two steaming mugs of coffee, one of which he held out towards her now like a peace offering.

"So," he started as the elemental accepted the cup and took a ginger sip. "Your dad..."

The unasked, awkward question hung between them. Aileen quirked a brow and assured the hunter, "I told him I was working with a couple of guys who were also on the case." She hesitated, tucking some hair back behind her ear. "No reason to worry him about anything else. I'll check in with him again in a while."

Sam nodded and sipped out of the other coffee. Behind them, Dean reappeared with his own cup and a thoughtful scowl.

"Not to be a downer," he started as Sam gestured to the tables for them to sit at. "But we're back to square one. We don't know who's behind this, and we don't know if any of those vics are still alive. Aileen, you said you knew what was wrong with the water?"

Aileen nodded, cupping her mug and relishing the comforting warmth soothing her nerves. "The salt concentration is too high in these lakes," she explained. "Hence the fish kill."

"The... fish kill?" Dean echoed. The elemental nodded again.

"Right, basically that's what you saw back there at the lake, when so many fish are killed like that. It's not actually an uncommon phenomenon. I mean, usually it's not this massive, though, and it doesn't usually affect people."

"But how?" Sam asked. "You're saying it's natural causes after all?"

"Most of the time." Aileen blew gently on the coffee to cool it down before sipping again. She pulled her legs up to curl beside her on the chair, feeling more at ease as the conversation turned to her element. "Fish kills can be caused by anything from pollutants to temperature to salinity. In this case, it's the salt. Fish are pretty sensitive to that. It's why freshwater fish and saltwater fish are two entirely separate categories. And why you can't have them in the same tank, if you have an aquarium. Even a small change in salinity could cause harm, but in this case..."

She trailed off, frowning. Almost subconsciously, she twirled her finger through the air, out of sight under the edge of the table. The hot liquid in her cup stirred itself obediently.

"Aileen?" Castiel prompted. "What about this case?"

"It's just, it's weird," she explained. "It was WAY too high. I mean, it was like the entire lake had been diluted with sea water."

"Okay, wait." Dean closed his eyes and held up a hand before turning back to the elemental and asking, "How do you know that? They didn't have a lab in town. The sheriff just told me ten minutes ago that they're still waiting to get the analysis back."

Aileen shrugged. "Water is sort of my thing," she reminded him with a slight smile. "I can feel the different characteristics of the water. That's what I was doing when you, uh… found me."

Dean cleared his throat and glanced away with obvious embarrassment, but Sam sat up straighter and shot her an interested look. "So, wait, you can tell how salty the water is just by pulling it up in the air like that?"

Taking another sip of coffee, Aileen nodded. It had been a while since she'd had to explain everything to someone from the very beginning. Ordinarily, she would have never revealed so much to these men, who were still basically strangers, but there was no sense hiding anything at this point. Not when they'd already seen her abilities for themselves. Aileen glanced over at Castiel, wondering if the angels knew everything, or only that the elementals existed.

"It's hard to explain," she went on. "I can't tell you the actual saline level, but I could feel that it just wasn't right. It was too close to what I'm used to—I'm an oceanographer, so seawater is a familiar feel. I could feel the water's molecules saturated with all the salt."

Sam's eyebrows had risen steadily as she talked, and he nodded now with obvious interest. "That's… actually really cool."

Aileen smiled, but Dean leaned back in his chair with a snort as he propped his booted feet on the table. "Yeah, okay, nerd," he muttered into his coffee cup. "Molecules. Science. Hooray."

"That tells us more than we figured out in a full day, Dean."

Spreading his hands in a motion of surrender, the hunter said, "Hey, whatever. So what else can you do? I mean," he added with a roll of his eyes, "we already saw you can fight."

"And fight _effectively_ , I'd say," Castiel added as his eyes flitted to the hunters' freshly healed faces. "Elementals are granted control over their particular element, as well as the ability to communicate with the animals in each domain." He shrugged when the two hunters turned towards him, lips quirking in a slight smile. "The idea being that they are stewards over my Father's creation. To assist the angels in that duty. Obviously, that did not go as planned."

"Well, that sums up our whole lives, right there," Dean grumbled.

"So you can talk to fish?" Sam asked with a light frown.

Aileen bit her lip, considering how to explain. "Yes, and no. Water elementals communicate and command water animals. Not just fish, but things like dolphins, whales, anything living in water. But it's not really 'talking'. I mean, it's not like sea otters know English. But I can show them an image in my mind of what I'm looking for and then watch through their eyes as they show me where it is. If they don't understand, I can feel their confusion. That sort of thing."

Sam nodded. He was taking this extraordinarily well, Aileen thought, but with another half-glance at the angel standing at ease among them, she doubted this was even the strangest thing they had come across. In a way, that made things much easier, to have an audience willing to accept these things without worrying that they were about to go running for the hills.

The hunter leaned forward towards her then, suggesting, "What about the missing people? If they _are_ dead and the bodies just haven't been found yet, could you find them in the lake? Can you just… I don't know, move the water aside or something?"

Castiel snorted. "She's not Moses, Sam. She can't just part the waters like the Red Sea."

"Wait…" Dean looked between Aileen and the angel, brow furrowed as he asked, "Was Moses a…?"

"No, Dean."

Aileen couldn't help but grin at the exchange, but she sobered as she rubbed her forehead with a light sigh. "He's right," she admitted. "You saw me moving a ball of water around, because it's not that heavy and I've had a lot of practice. To push through an entire lake… it would take a whole group of water elementals, all focusing on the same spot. We might bend the laws of physics a little bit, but we're still pretty much bound by them."

"So you're saying you can't move too much water because it's physically too heavy," Sam clarified.

"Right. I can't hold back a tsunami just because I can control water." The elemental turned back to Castiel once again, opening her mouth only hesitantly. "Just out of curiosity," she started before clearing her throat. "But… if you're an angel… I mean, why can't you just find them yourself?"

There was a pause. Aileen hoped the question hadn't been rude, but she knew less about angels than the hunters knew about her, at this point. The three traded a quick look, before Castiel's eyes shifted to the ground with what looked almost like chagrin.

"At one time, I- I could have," he murmured. "Things have changed. I no longer have my former power."

Aileen winced. "I'm sorry if I-"

"No, you have no reason for apology. It is not of import."

Though his words sounded like casual dismissal of the issue, Aileen heard the sense of wistfulness as clear as day. He must still have _some_ power, to be able to heal them all as he had, and she wondered how much he had lost. The elemental imagined, just for a moment, losing her own abilities. She shuddered.

"There are more of you, though, right?" Aileen asked. "I mean, even if they don't like _me_ , maybe-"

"Don't bother," Dean interrupted her, shifting to put his feet back on the ground so that the chair landed on all fours again with a thud. "Getting another angel to help? Not gonna happen."

"They're busy with their own affairs," Castiel explained. "They wouldn't bother searching for two missing humans who are most likely already dead anyway. We don't count on the other angels for assistance. The truth is, Aileen… my kind would likely be a disappointment to you."

Aileen had to admit, it was odd to not only have her belief that there were no angels shaken, but also that what she _did_ believe about them was also wrong. She hated hearing the undertone of shame in his voice, though, and she shook her head at the angel.

"I doubt that. I mean, they can't _all_ be bad. You seem alright."

"That's 'cause he's with us," Dean explained with a smirk, expression softening slightly. "Cas has saved our asses more than once. Trust me, he's the only one of the lot who actually acts like an angel."

"That's generous," Castiel murmured as he dipped his head. The touch of shame had shifted to a touch of pride, though. "At any rate, I doubt very much that the remaining two victims are still alive. This creature, whatever we're facing, has shown no concern for either human or animal life thus far."

"Cas is right," Sam agreed, though his eyes darkened as he admitted it. "I was hoping we could save them, but we might have to face the fact that it's too late for them."

A dismal silence fell over the group, as Aileen looked from one sorrowful face to another. Despite the acute memories of their harsh treatment towards her, she couldn't help but see how truly it pained them to lose even two human lives. There were many, including elementals in their own governing agency, who would consider two lives insignificant in the overall scheme of things. To place such value on an individual life was a mark in these hunters' favor.

Clearing her throat, Aileen spoke up, "All the more reason to stop whatever this is. Maybe if I went back to the lake, I can find some other anomaly that might hint at who's causing the fish kill. And the missing people."

The three turned to look at her, but Aileen only raised her chin in determination. "I still have a job to do," she explained. "And I'm going to see it through. Maybe if we work together…?"

"You shouldn't be out there alone," Dean decided, getting to his feet. "It's too dangerous. I'll go with you."

"In case some crazy people jump me from the woods?" the elemental couldn't help but ask with a wry smile. Dean glared at her, but she could see his mouth twitching as though trying to keep a straight face. At any rate, he was probably right; Aileen had a bad habit of going off to investigate on her own, which was how this entire fiasco had started. Going in with backup was the smarter move.

"I'll stay here and do some research," Sam volunteered with an amused look between the two. "I was only looking at freshwater monsters before. Maybe if I expand the search to include seawater as well…" He gestured vaguely towards the stacks of books. "Maybe something will turn up. Cas, what about you?"

"It appears I'm not going to be busy in Heaven for a while," Cas replied. "Give me the names of the missing two humans, Sam. There are still angels willing to speak to me. I can at least inquire if the souls have been brought to Heaven, though it won't tell us much if they were hell-bound."

Aileen set her empty coffee mug down and unwound her legs so she could stand. Dean was already leading the way towards the staircase, grumbling over his shoulder, "I don't suppose you can do anything about the fish smell in the car?"

"I hope you're not expecting an apology," Aileen retorted without thinking. Castiel and Sam were both grinning, though, as Dean muttered something under his breath about a baby. At least he didn't seem to be truly angry, and the elemental felt herself relax a little bit more.

Surely, with all four of them, this entire matter could be cleared up without anything catastrophic happening.

* * *

 

The water did nothing to soothe her rage. It boiled and frothed in her wake as she sped from one end of the lake to the other. Her violent gaze tore through the deeps, searching for either the thief or his prize.

There was nothing. This filthy puddle was as empty as the dozens she had already searched in her mad race across the country, shifting from one body of water to the next. He was here, somewhere, and he was going to die.

Heedless of the destruction she left behind, she continued on her wild dash, disappearing from the lake and appearing in the next. She broke through the surface, water streaming like geysers from her wrathful hands. A cry echoed across the water, a pitiful human in a vessel of flimsy fiberglass nearly falling into the water in surprise at her sudden appearance.

With a shriek that rippled the water in torment, she surged forward and dragged the terrified human to the edge of his boat.

"Where is it?" she screamed, pulling him farther and farther over the rail towards the water. Fish began to bob to the surface, sightless eyes gazing into the colorless sky. "Where? What have you done with it?"

"Wh-what?" the human spluttered. His eyes were beginning to bulge, fear and confusion radiating from his measly body. "What… are… you?"

"It's mine! MINE! Where is it, you filth?"

He was clutching her hands, trying to free himself from her savage grip. His clawing fingers dug into her flesh without finding purchase, but no answer was forthcoming. He didn't know, curse him, this wasn't her thief. With another furious wail, she yanked him off his vessel into the water, then dove. Farther, farther, farther down, while bubbles burst from the human's mouth as he tried to scream. He was dead before she reached the bottom, and she continued on her way.

Someone had stolen what was hers.

Someone was going to pay.


	5. Chapter 5

The drive to the lake was only slightly uncomfortable, mostly because Aileen kept shooting Dean looks as though to make sure he was staying on his side of the car and not about to attack. He didn't blame her, but reminded himself again that he and Sam had acted according to the best information they'd had at the time.

Still, the whole thing was a little embarrassing.

"So," Dean finally said after half an hour of awkward silence. "You're a water chick. So I assume there's…?"

"Four kinds," Aileen explained easily enough. "Water, earth, fire, air."

"So you're like Katara the water bender." Dean turned to grin at Aileen, relieved when her mouth twitched in amusement.

"It's not exactly like Avatar, but… yeah, you could kinda think of it like that. Just don't go assuming that fire elementals are natural 'bad guys'. They're really not."

"They weren't really in the cartoon either," Dean couldn't help but point out, even if it proved he spent too much time watching kiddie shows. "Just a couple of bad seeds."

Aileen smiled in agreement. "There's always some bad seeds. But that's why I do what I do."

"What… oceanography?"

The elemental shrugged and turned towards him. "I'm in research, but we step in if we come across harmful fishing habits, environmental criminals, that kind of thing. I mean, there _are_ some of us in actual law enforcement. They get a little more hands on. I'm just a scientist, honestly, I don't even know how I end up in these kinds of problems."

She sighed as though this wasn't a first for her. There was so much exasperation in the sound that Dean had to snicker.

"Well, hopefully this is one we can clean up in no time," Dean assured her. "The trick is figuring out who's behind this."

"I just hope I can find something at the lake. Maybe they got sloppy."

They didn't speak again until they pulled to a stop in the gravel parking lot by the lake. Dean climbed out of the car, sharp gaze making an automatic sweep of the perimeter. It looked quiet, but he still made his way to the trunk to grab another magazine for his gun.

"Uh…" Aileen spoke up, staring wide-eyed at the arsenal she'd unknowingly been on top of on her previous trip.

"Uh…" Dean looked between her and the trunk full of weapons, before hurrying to slam it closed again. "It's- we- yeah."

Shaking his head, the hunter led the way down to the bank of the water. Aileen seemed to hesitate, but Dean heard her footsteps crunching after him before too long. He wrinkled his nose; he was never going to eat fish again for the rest of his life. The smell was god-awful, and he'd smelled some pretty nasty crap before.

"Alright," he said, still watching their surroundings with the caution of a hunter too used to being ambushed in peaceful places. "So, what now? Where you wanna start?"

"I'm not sure," Aileen admitted, walking past him to squat down close to the water's edge. "If there were witnesses who saw this alchemist, then she must be pretty careless. Or just that sure of herself."

"You keep saying alchemist," Dean mentioned. "Thirty years of hunting, I've never come across a monster called an alchemist. What _is_ it?"

Aileen straightened back up, looking left and right before seeming to decide on left as the best direction to head. "It's not a monster. They're just people," she explained. "They're- whoa!"

The dead fish still piled around were slick and slimy from lake water lapping gently up in the breeze. Aileen's foot skidded on one, nearly dumping the elemental into the lake. Dean's hand shot out to steady her.

"Careful."

"Thanks. Anyway, alchemists are humans who use magic they shouldn't for bad reasons."

"Well, whatever, if it's human then it makes them that much easier to gank." Not that Dean was sold on this just yet. There was just a "pagan goddess" stink to all of this, and that was where he was putting his money.

"Gank- wait, you mean kill them?"

The dismay was so tangible that it took Dean off-guard. His world was one of hunters and death… killing the bad guy was just assumed. He cast a sideways look at the elemental and shrugged. "Well, yeah. Aileen, whoever's behind this has _killed_ people-"

"That doesn't mean we have to kill _them_ ," she protested. "Look, we have an agency that deals with this kind of thing. Help me catch her, and I'll call some agents to come pick her up. They'll know what to do."

"Some agents?" Dean repeated with a snort of disbelief. Odds were, it wasn't even one of these alchemist things anyway. "You heard what I said, right? People are _dead_. That's all the reason I need."

"In other words, I'm lucky to be alive at all," Aileen snapped, stepping back and crossing her arms. "Is that what you always do? Shoot first and never wonder if you even had the right person?"

The hunter sighed. Okay, so she sort of had a point with that one. Still, if this was a goddess, putting her down was probably the only option they'd even have. Even Sam knew better than to try talking them down, after the mess with the Trickster-aka-Gabriel.

"Look," Dean said, reaching out to take her arm, but pausing when she pulled away. "It's not that complicated. If it's evil, we kill it. That's how we protect people. But," he went on as Aileen turned her head, "I'll make you a deal. _If_ it is an alchemist whatever, and _if_ she doesn't try to kill us first… then fine, she's all yours. We'll take her back to the Bunker and keep her under wraps. But if she makes a move, and I mean just _one_ , like she's going to hurt you or anyone else? No. I'm putting her down, _fast_. Alright?"

Aileen met his eyes again, face scrunched slightly as though trying to gauge his sincerity, before her expression smoothed out and she nodded.

"Good," Dean grumbled, turning back to the lake. "Damn, between you and Sam, I swear… Anyway, none of that's gonna matter if we can't find her."

"I do have an idea about that," the elemental said as she stepped up beside him once again. She closed her eyes, brow furrowing as though in concentration. "If I can get a good look at her, maybe it'll help narrow things down. I doubt she could have killed so many people without being seen."

Wait, what? "We already interviewed the witness," Dean pointed out. "Not that he was all that reliable."

"Yeah, but maybe something _else_ saw her. Maybe… just maybe…"

She trailed off, eyes still closed. Dean glanced around. Aileen was showing no signs of bothering to finish her thought, so he demanded, "Maybe what?"

"Shh. Let me concentrate- wait, there." She opened her eyes again, grinning. "I can communicate with animals in my element, remember?"

Dean snorted. "All the fish are dead."

"Yeah, but the turtles are a bit hardier. There's a family of them out around the bend. I'm going to ask if they were there."

This was all getting hard for Dean to swallow, but then again, Cas had said himself that this was a superpower the elementals had. Besides, he decided, they'd seen stranger things. A magic, water-wielding woman getting a lead about an alchemist-slash-goddess from a turtle…sure, why not. Let her interview the turtle.

God, their lives were weird.

"Hey, Dean?" she suddenly spoke up, gazing over the lake. "You said you talked to a witness… did they say anything about the woman using a fishing net to drown her victims?"

"The turtle told you she used a net?"

"He showed me an image of her, yeah."

Huh. "Okay, so that's handy," Dean decided under his breath. He dug into his pocket with one hand, still holding the gun at the ready as he retrieved his cell phone. "No, I don't think anyone mentioned a net. Hang on."

"Think that matters?" Aileen asked, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand and squinting up at the hunter.

Dean shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe. Sam, hey," he went on as his brother answered the phone. "Add 'fishing net' to the search and see what pops up."

"A fishing net?" Sam repeated. "Um, okay. Hold on a sec."

Dean waited, listening as the ambient noise on Sam's end got louder, his brother obviously switching to speaker phone. He heard a faint rustle, and then their angel friend.

"Dean. I inquired about the souls of those missing."

"Yeah?"

There was a pause, then a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Dean. One of the angels in death statistics assures me they are dead, but they were never delivered to Heaven. I'm told neither were marked for Hell, so it's likely whatever killed them also has their souls."

Dean groaned, raising the gun uselessly and then letting it fall back to his side as he glared up into the sky at nothing in particular. "Damn it!"

"I'm sorry, Dean," Cas said, earnest and crestfallen through the phone.

Taking a breath to collect himself, the hunter shook his head. "It's not your fault, Cas."

"What isn't?" Aileen whispered.

"The missing victims are dead. Sammy, tell me you got something."

"Whoa… uh, Dean? I think I know who we're dealing with. You two had better get back here."

* * *

 

Castiel could see the frustration etched into Dean's eyes, though the hunter wore nothing but a mask of grim professionalism. Only years of watching the changing hues of the Winchester's psyche beneath his physical shell allowed Castiel a glimpse of what Dean truly felt and thought. The angel hated seeing his friend take every lost human life so personally.

"Dean," he greeted the hunter as both Aileen and Dean hurried down the Bunker stairs into the library. "Aileen."

"Hi," the elemental answered, arms full of… turtles?

"Uh…" Sam spoke up, raising an eyebrow as he too caught sight of their terrapin guests.

"Don't ask," Dean grumbled. He jerked his thumb towards Aileen, who rolled her eyes.

"I told you, I'll relocate them as soon as this is over. What was I supposed to do, leave them in a salty lake that would eventually kill them?"

"They stink!"

Aileen rolled her eyes again. "For a tough guy, you whine a lot."

Sam's hand flew up to his mouth as he hurriedly tried to disguise a burst of laughter with a cough. Castiel himself didn't bother attempting to hide his amusement, letting a smile creep onto his face at Dean's sputter of indignation.

"Anyway," Aileen went on, looking around until Sam dumped some books out of a cardboard box for her to set the turtles in. "Did you find the alchemist?"

"Yes and no," the younger Winchester replied. "The fish net definitely gives her away, but it's not an alchemist or whatever."

"So what are we looking at?" Dean asked as he pointedly scooted the box across the floor with his boot.

Sam turned his laptop around, showing them the webpage he'd found. "Pagan goddess. Norse. Her name is Rán… the net was her weapon of choice, capturing men who voyaged out to sea and using it to drown them and collect their souls."

"That certainly explains why neither of them made it to Heaven," Castiel mused out loud, brow furrowing with thought. This wasn't good. He knew of Rán, though they had never met face to face. She had a reputation of being rather volatile-natured, to rival even Raphael. And her domain was far into the depths of the ocean. Without his wings, Castiel stood no chance of braving her halls to rescue the victims.

How well the angel understood Dean's own frustration. His duty was to shepherd the humans, and being helpless to come to these innocent souls' aid dug deep into his heart.

"And why I didn't think of her before," Sam added. "I mean, she's strictly a _sea_ goddess. Why would she even be here in the lakes?"

"Yeah, in _Kansas_ ," Dean pointed out. "I mean, it's not like we're even close to the ocean. Aileen, any idea-" He broke off, drawing Castiel's attention to the elemental as well. "Aileen?"

She was staring at the trio without moving, mouth hanging slightly open and a wary, disbelieving look in her eyes. Slowly, the elemental shook her head. "You… you don't mean an _actual…_ I mean, this isn't… there's no such thing."

"As a pagan goddess?" Dean asked with a shrug. "Okay, quick and dirty version: yeah, they're definitely real. Tough sons of bitches to kill, but we've ganked a number of 'em."

"I… I thought you were joking…"

Before he'd been human, Castiel would have never understood how people could have such a hard time believing in these kinds of things. He'd come to learn, though, that it was one thing for him—a celestial being who had pre-dated several of these minor deities—and another for these achingly young humans whose minds could barely comprehend the vastness of space.

Becoming human had taught Castiel that even he was so, so small, in spite of what his righteous pride would have him believe. For these humans, even an elemental, being faced with something this cosmic could be overwhelming.

"Take a moment," Sam advised. He swept his arm up, demonstrating a deep breath. "I know. It's a lot."

Again, Aileen shook her head. "No," she whispered. "No. Angels… that's one thing. Pagan goddesses?"

"And gods," Dean added unhelpfully. "And sometimes just archangels pretending to be gods."

"No!" Aileen repeated, almost angry. "This is too- you know what, I just… I need a minute."

Turning on her heel, the young elemental stormed out of the library. Castiel listened with the two Winchesters as her footsteps echoed on up the metal staircase. The heavy door creaked open, and then slammed closed again, leaving them to pause awkwardly in the following silence.

"That went well," Dean growled.

"Sam," Castiel murmured, head inclined towards the staircase as he took a slow step forward. "Tell Dean about Rán. I'll talk to her."

He could see their surprised looks from the periphery, but ignored this. True, his "people skills" were still far from honed, and what he would actually say to her was beyond him. They were so very distant from each other, yet at the same time they were kindred spirits, united in their duty to serve God's creation.

"Um… okay," Sam called as Castiel ascended the stairs. "Anyway Dean, speaking of archangels posing as pagans… three guesses who made Rán's net for her in the first place."

"Oh, you're _kidding_ me, how many goddesses did Gabriel schmooze, anyway?!"

Castiel lost the rest of the conversation as he reached the outer door. The sound of the brothers' voices cut off as he stepped out into the dimming twilight. Aileen didn't look up from where she sat on the steps leading from the sunken entry level to the drive. Her head was bowed over her knees, arms clasped around the back of her neck as though she was trying to ward off shock.

The angel cleared his throat, uncomfortably aware of his own inadequacy at human interaction. "Aileen," he began, then broke off with a sigh. There was nothing he could say that would make this easier. Castiel gave it up and simply sat down next to her on the small step.

"Alchemists, I can handle," Aileen muttered, voice muffled. "Sea monsters, whatever. Witches, vampires, even angels apparently, fine. But… gods and goddesses? How much bigger does it get, Castiel?"

The angel looked down at his folded hands, knowing the answer would be no comfort to the overwhelmed elemental: "Much." There was no point getting into specifics, such as the battle they'd fought against God's sister, with himself being possessed by Lucifer.

Aileen raised her head, nodding slowly. She didn't say anything for a second, but finally exhaled in a breathy laugh. "I'm kinda wishing I was back home with my boyfriend right now," she admitted, twisting her hands back and forth. "Just to have something normal. But I still don't have my phone to even call him."

Castiel gave her a sad smile. "I wish I could fly you back to him," he told her. "At one point I could, you know. I could have done a lot of things, once. But it turns out I'm not as high on the food chain as I used to believe. It was difficult to go from one of the most powerful beings created to... something vulnerable. You think you know your place in the universe, and then…"

"It's all shaken in the blink of an eye," Aileen finished, nodding. "How do you deal with it?"

"I'm not entirely sure that I do," the angel admitted. "But it helps to remember my purpose. It gets harder when I lose sight of that, but I've finally learned that it hasn't changed. No matter what my brothers and sisters are doing, or even my father… no matter if I'm a Seraph or a human or just a fallen angel with fading grace. All I ever wanted was to help people, to protect this Earth. It's what I was made for. It's what I am. And it's what I'll keep doing, no matter how big the monsters become or how weak I get."

Aileen's head tilted towards him, and Castiel was relieved to see a hint of a smile play across her face. "That's nice," she said softly. "I guess that's not so different from me."

"And you have your father, your boyfriend," Castiel pointed out. His mouth quirked into a smile of his own. "Family… it can help keep you grounded. When they're not driving you to insanity."

This time, she chuckled, a little rueful grin on her face as she nodded. "Yeah. Well, I'm glad those guys give you that." Aileen heaved a sigh, the smile slipping away. "This is just… it's too big for me. I don't like feeling so small. I'm not cut out for this kind of thing. I'm a _scientist_."

"You're an elemental," Castiel corrected her with a small shrug. "Just because none of you have faced this yet doesn't mean you weren't meant to. You don't have to be an angel of the Lord doing mighty deeds to be of importance. Sometimes what's really needed are the everyday, quietly heroic people who don't even realize how vital they are to a battle much bigger than themselves."

Aileen fell silent again and looked away, allowing the cricket song to softly build around them in the dusk. Castiel shifted, uncertain if he had been of any help or merely added to her confusion. He didn't dare say anything more, wary of his awkwardness in talking to humans making it worse. Finally, the elemental turned to him once again.

"Sam and Dean… they aren't even elementals," she pointed out with a shadow of bafflement in her eyes. "I mean, they don't even bat an eye at this whole goddess thing. You all talk about these 'long stories' that you have, but they're… they're just human. They deal with all of this and they don't have any special powers?"

Castiel felt his mouth draw up into a smirk. "No special powers. Just human ingenuity and stubbornness."

She chuckled again, then jumped slightly as the front door creaked open on its hinges to reveal Sam and Dean. Their expressions were grim and Dean was carrying a duffel bag. Castiel straightened, frowning.

"Sam, Dean," he said, instantly on guard. "What is it?"

"Just came across the wire," Dean growled. "More lakes, in a straight line towards the Pacific. If we don't stop her soon…"

He trailed off, but Castiel was already on his feet. Dean was right: there was no time to lose. Beside him, Aileen clambered upright as well, practically radiating discomfort and uncertainty. The brothers turned to her with uncharacteristic sympathy.

"Aileen, you've been a great help," Sam assured her. "We might have never figured out who we were dealing with if not for you."

"So, uh… we'll drop you off wherever you need to go," Dean said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's the least we can do after… you know. But this isn't your fight, so…"

Aileen looked from one face to the next, her uncertainty hardening into a frown. "Not my fight?" she repeated blankly. "It _is_ my fight. I'm an elemental."

The hunters traded a quick look as Castiel smiled. Sam turned back to Aileen, saying,

"But… I thought you- I mean, this is a lot to take in-"

"No kidding," she agreed with a dry snort. "Don't get me wrong, I still feel like I'm in _way_ over my head. But this is my job. This is my _duty_. And she's killing people, I can't just turn away from that."

Dean gave her a piercing look, but the angel could detect the hint of pride mixed in with the concern, the way he had always looked at Charlie. "You're sure?" he asked. "You don't have to do this."

Aileen nodded and squared her shoulders. "Yes, I do. I agreed to look into this case and I can't just quit as soon as it gets a little deep."

The brothers glanced at each other again before Dean's eyes shifted suddenly to Castiel with a questioning expression. The angel raised an eyebrow; it wasn't often that his input was requested when it came to something like this. Still, he didn't even have to consider the matter. Castiel gave the hunter a curt nod in assent of Aileen's sincerity… and her ability.

It seemed good enough for Sam and Dean, who both shrugged.

"Alright then," Sam said, warm smile beaming down on the elemental. "Glad to have you on board, Aileen."

"Better buckle up," agreed Dean as he hitched the duffel more securely on his shoulder. "It's gonna be a crazy ride."


	6. Chapter 6

The Impala purred as they raced down the highway, streetlamps offering brief swatches of illumination in the silent car. Sam listened to the sound of the road under the tires, soothed by the familiar lullaby and the solid presence of his big brother behind the wheel. He was impressed with how well Aileen was holding herself together. Her response to everything made him appreciate the constants in his life, though, the sanity amidst all the craziness.

The car, and his brother, and the rush of the asphalt in their wake was one of those constants, and sometimes Sam forgot how much he needed that.

The young hunter smiled when he caught a glimpse of Aileen in the rearview, dozing against Cas's shoulder. The silent angel was being careful not to move and wake her up. Sam couldn't sleep though, not when there was still research to do.

"Any luck finding a way to gank this bitch?" Dean murmured, breaking the silence but keeping his voice low enough not to disturb Aileen.

Sam shook his head and dug a charger out of the glove box to plug his phone in. "So far, the lore only says to carry gold when you go to sea," he explained. "Apparently she _really_ likes gold, so it might distract her long enough for you to escape. Nothing about killing her."

"Well, everything has a weak spot," Dean said. "We've learned that much, _nothing_ is invincible. There's gotta be a way."

"Most gods we've been up against need to be stabbed with something," Sam pointed out. "If there's no lore, maybe we can just improvise. Cas, what about your angel blade? Think that'll do it?"

He twisted in his seat to catch Cas's musing expression and then a slow, not entirely confident nod.

"Perhaps," the angel murmured. "She's very powerful, though. We shouldn't put all our faith in the blade."

"Still wanna know why she was in the middle of Kansas in a frickin' lake," Dean grumbled.

"About that," Sam spoke up, twisting back around to watch the mile markers flash by. "This is a sea goddess. She's only ever been seen in the ocean. I'm thinking she can only move through water, and it probably turns into seawater the longer she stays there."

"And didn't the guy you talked to say she was looking for something?" Dean prodded.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, said she kept asking where it was. You think maybe someone stole something from her? How?"

"I don't know, man," Dean replied with a sigh. "But I got no other ideas."

"If she is indeed trying to reclaim stolen property," Cas murmured from the backseat, "then I sincerely doubt the culprit is human. Rán dwells in the pagan underworld, only accessible from the bottom of the ocean. A human would have no means of getting into her home."

"What then, a demon?" Dean asked. "What about an angel, could they get in there?"

In the rearview, they saw Cas shake his head. "Not without wings," he said. The twinge of sadness was evident in his voice, enough that Sam traded a quick look with Dean, but their angel friend only went on to say, "There are a handful of other supernatural creatures who would possess the ability to cross into the underworld. Fairies, pixies. Other pagans, of course. Without knowing more, there's no way to determine who might be responsible."

"Next question is, how do we find her?" Sam pointed out. "If she's made it to the coast, she's back in the ocean and could be pretty much anywhere. We might _have_ to figure out what she's lost, and track her that way."

"Actually… there might be another way," Dean said. His eyes rose to the reflection in the rearview, and he grinned.

The drive continued in silence as the night wore on. Sam finally drifted off into a light snooze, waking when Dean stopped for gas so that he could trade out and let the older hunter catch a quick nap himself. By the time Aileen stirred in the backseat as the sun began to come up, they had made it all the way through Colorado and into Utah.

"We should reach the coast by early evening," Sam informed the groggy elemental as she straightened and stretched as much as possible in the cramped car. "There's a bag of snacks back there somewhere, but, uh… if we need to stop or anything, let us know." Because Dean was hardly likely to remember the fact that their passenger probably wasn't as used to all-day-long road trips without stopping for more than a few minutes to fill up the car and their food bag.

As it turned out, Aileen was more fun to travel with than Dean, though Sam kept that opinion to himself. He definitely preferred listening to her chat with Cas, as opposed to the same five rock albums that Dean would have otherwise been playing. The elemental was engaging and curious, apparently determined to learn as much as she could about the supernatural world that she'd only been partially aware of.

"Wait, I don't get it," Dean spoke up at one point as Aileen traded stories of her own in return. "So you're telling me that since your boyfriend is _human,_ any kids you have will be elementals… but if you married an elemental, the kids would be… _human_? Dude, that's whacked, isn't it?"

"If I married another _water_ elemental, my kids would still carry that power," she explained. "But if it was a different kind of elemental, like earth for instance, our powers would cancel each other out and the child wouldn't have either."

Huh. Well, that did sort of make sense, Sam supposed. He wondered with a grin how Aileen's boyfriend had taken it when he'd discovered that she was a powerful elemental instead of just a mild-mannered oceanographer.

Sam was only listening with half an ear, though, spending the rest of his attention on the matter of how they were going to kill Rán. Though he'd thoroughly scoured the resources available online, the hunter found no hints about a weapon that would do the job. He considered the other weapons they had used on various gods and goddesses and tried to extrapolate something that would destroy a sea goddess. Nothing was really coming to mind, though. It was looking more and more like they would have to rely on Cas's blade, and pray that it would be strong enough.

By the time they reached Reno, Nevada, it was only just early afternoon, thanks to Dean's lead foot and very few breaks. Sam switched on the radio and adjusted the dial until they found a news station. He frowned, leaning forward to listen as a woman chimed in with the weather.

"Once again, folks, if you're planning on being in the Santa Cruz area, pack an umbrella. The storms which appeared out of nowhere on the coast have shown no sign of relenting, and we're getting reports of some localized areas of flooding. Still no trace of storm weather in Monterey, only fifty miles south, so if you're looking for a good day at the beach, you might want to try there instead. Speaking of a day at the beach, come by Hailey's Sporting Goods for all your-"

Sam switched the radio off, trading a look with his brother.

Dean shrugged. "Santa Cruz it is," he decided. "It's as good as any other lead we've got."

The coast was only a four-hour's drive. As Santa Cruz got closer and closer, the sky overhead started to turn an uglier shade of threatening gray. Raindrops began to patter on the windshield, then turned into massive, pelting waves.

"Shit," Dean cursed under his breath, slowing to almost a crawl as the windshield wipers strained and groaned in the attempt to keep his view clear. "I can't see a damn thing."

"Hang on," Aileen said, leaning up between Dean and Sam and extending a hand towards the front of the car. By magic, the sheets of water running down the window drew aside like opening curtains, offering enough visibility that Dean was able to pull under the awning of a sheltered parking spot just in view of the beach.

"Handy," the older hunter commented in approval as he shut off the engine and gave the Impala's steering wheel a fond pat. "Just going out on a limb here, but I'm gonna guess we're in the right place."

"Little wonder she was so feared by seafaring men," Cas remarked, leaning over to examine the thunderheads that covered the horizon. "This isn't going to be easy."

Sam snorted and twisted around with a wry grin. "Nothing ever is for us. Anyway, here we are… now what? How are we supposed to find a sea goddess in the middle of the ocean?"

"Not sure _we_ can," Dean replied, gesturing between Sam and himself. He turned in his seat toward Aileen, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm betting _something_ in there must've seen her. Think anyone's feeling chatty?"

Aileen smiled, straightening up and peering out into the deluge to the beach with massive swells rolling in from the open sea. Her eyes narrowed tighter and tighter, mouth pursing slightly with concentration before she finally shook her head.

"I need to get closer," she explained, pulling the hood of her raincoat up over her head. "I can't connect to anything from way back here."

"I'll go with her," Sam assured Cas as he saw the angel cast a worried eye down the abandoned beach. He pulled out his gun, checking to make sure it was fully loaded—and catching Aileen's expression of distaste at the weapon. But there was no way he was going to let her walk around unprotected with a rampaging goddess on the loose, even if bullets weren't likely to do much good anyway.

"Alright, let's do this," Aileen said with a light roll of her shoulders. She and Sam traded a look, nodded, and then burst out of the Impala, racing through the downpour towards a small, covered snack store. It was little more than an extended pagoda, but at least it would offer some shelter. Aileen had her hands raised as they ran, pushing the worst of the rain away from them. Sam had to consciously slow his long stride enough for her to keep up.

When they reached the relative shelter of the awning, Aileen was breathing a little heavier from using her power to keep them at least somewhat dry. The hunter didn't want to think how much energy it must take to hold back rain this ferocious.

"Is this close enough?" he asked, wiping droplets from his face as he gazed down at the beach.

The elemental closed her eyes, then slowly nodded. "Much better," she murmured. "There's a few animals around. Hang on…"

Sam watched her, marveling at this completely alien power in her. Aileen's mouth never moved, but her lips softened into a smile after a minute, as though she were amused with whatever was happening.

"Find something?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

She nodded a reply. "There's a shark not too far out. A couple of dolphins heading the other way. They haven't seen her but they'll keep an eye out… I think they were too far off at sea to notice when she came in. But there's some sea otters who're more helpful."

"Sea otters?" Sam repeated with a chuckle.

"Yeah, they're not happy because of the storm she caused. It's dangerous for their pups. Oh, wait, they're going to show me…" She trailed off, then snorted and shook her head, eyes still closed. "Of course they followed her. That's just like a sea otter."

Sam's mouth quirked; he'd never considered that different animals would have such distinct personalities. The hunter waited, forcing himself to be patient as Aileen stood stock still with head slightly cocked. Only her eyes twitched beneath closed lids, sliding back and forth like she was watching something.

Finally, the elemental shifted, eyes opening to glance at Sam. "Got it," she declared. "There's a big cement building about five minutes from here by water."

"How far by road?" Sam asked.

Aileen paused, giving him a wry look. "I don't know. The otters don't drive."

"…Right. Okay, that's something, anyway. She's in there?"

"They think so, but couldn't get in to check. And not from lack of trying." Aileen snorted and shook her head before murmuring again, "Otters."

Together, the two hurried back to the Impala, managing to get drenched in rain even with Aileen's protective magic repelling as much of the water as she could. When Sam threw himself into the passenger seat beside his brother, Dean wrinkled his nose.

"Find anything?" he asked, pointedly wiping water droplets that had landed on the center console.

"Um… according to the otter report," Sam replied with an ironic smirk, "she's holed up in some building a little ways down the beach."

"Otter report," Dean snorted, twisting to flash a grin at Aileen as she buckled in. "We gotta keep you around. They didn't happen to have any bright ideas about what she's doing here, did they?"

Aileen shook her head. "No, sorry. So… once we find her, what do we do? I could contact the agency to send some people, but it would take time to explain and then to get them here."

As Dean started the car and pulled back out into the monsoon, Cas leaned over to glance up at the furious sky. "I'm not sure we have that kind of time," the angel pointed out.

"She does seem a _little_ upset," agreed Sam with a snort. "If we wait, more people will die. I don't think we have any choice but to move now. Besides, I doubt they'd have any more ideas about what to do than we do."

"And no chance we could just… talk her into leaving?" Aileen suggested, though even she didn't sound convinced. Sam remembered the sort of optimism it took to even offer up an idea like that; the Winchesters hadn't had such optimism in years.

Dean was snorting and muttering something about how Sam and Aileen should start a pacifist club, but the younger hunter ignored him to give the elemental a sad shake of his head.

"Been there, tried that. Talking them down never works, especially if she's already pissed enough to have done all this. Although…" He trailed off, mind starting to whirr. They'd had worse ideas before…

Dean had already twisted his direction, face darkening with suspicion. "Although _what,_ Sam? Whatever you're thinking, stop. We're not gonna chat her up."

"Dean, think about it, though. If we knew _why_ she was here, if we knew what she wanted… maybe we could use that. Maybe even try to bargain. If we could convince her to give the souls back, at least maybe a reaper could take them on up to Heaven."

His brother seemed unimpressed, but then again, Dean had never been on the Heaven bandwagon. The hunter snorted and grumbled, "Is that really any better than Rán's underworld or whatever?"

Sam's memories flashed back to what he'd read about Rán and the souls she collected. His stomach turned and he nodded. "Um… yes."

Dean didn't push the matter, but instead looked up into the rearview where Cas and Aileen were silently listening from the backseat. "Maybe. But if we have a shot, we gotta take it. Cas, if you see an opening to use the blade, just do it. _If_ she tries to deal, we'll _think_ about it. But we might only get one shot and we can't afford to miss."

"Dean's right," the angel agreed, though Sam could see the regret in Cas's reflection. They heard his coat rustle, and then Cas was holding the angel blade aloft. "Perhaps I should go in alone," he went on. "There's no need to risk all of-"

"Uh, not a chance!" Dean snapped, cutting him off.

"That's not how family works, Cas," Sam went on with no room for argument in his tone. "We're in this together. We're not sending you headfirst into danger without backup, don't be ridiculous."

Cas held his gaze, but the hunter didn't back down. Their angel had spent too long believing his only value was as a disposable weapon, a hammer to clear the path for Sam and Dean even if it meant his own death. Well, Sam was having none of it, nor was Dean. Aileen looked back and forth between the two before Cas finally relented with a small nod.

"I'm taking the lead, then," the angel stated. "That way, if I have an open shot, I can move in right away."

It seemed a reasonable compromise, and Sam nodded before turning back to face front. The rain was still coming down, but the road they were on followed the beach closely enough that it was only a few moments before a large building loomed into view.

"There," Aileen said, pointing at the structure. "That's the one. The otters showed me a view of her disappearing inside."

With a nod, Dean pulled into a parking lot in disrepair. Whatever this place had once been, it didn't seem to see any traffic anymore. The paint had chipped away from the weathered sign at the front of the building, but Sam could make out just enough to determine that it had once been some kind of maritime research building.

"But if she's confined to water," Cas spoke up with a frown, "how can she be inside the building?"

"Guess we'll find out," Dean said, switching the Impala off.

The storm hadn't eased in the slightest, but they were close enough to the front entrance that the group was only slightly soaked when Cas touched the door to blow it open on its hinges. Sam winced as the sound echoed down the long hallway they stumbled into. Stealth probably wasn't going to be an option at this point.

Nothing rose out of the shadows to attack, though, as all four paused. Finally, Sam reached into his pocket to retrieve a small flashlight. He clicked it on, casting even more shadows down the hallway, and swept it up and down to take in their surroundings. Other than some mold growing on the ceiling tiles and in the corners of the walls, there was nothing alarming.

"Cas?" Dean whispered. "Got anything?"

The angel inclined an ear, frowning. "Yes. I believe Aileen's information was good. Rán is farther in." The blade slipped down from his sleeve again as Cas took a step forward, free hand sweeping out to indicate that the others should stay behind him. "This way."

Making their cautious way down the hall, Sam listened to the sound of dripping water and his own adrenaline-fueled heart. Soon, the steady drip became a slosh, and he realized they were listening to someone pacing through a puddle of water with unsettling ferocity.

"Aileen, why don't you hang back?" Dean muttered, twisting towards the elemental. Sam felt her stiffen.

"Not a chance. There's water in there—I can fight if she doesn't cooperate. I didn't come this far just to sit out now."

The brothers traded looks. Sam didn't try to bite back his grin, and Dean only shrugged. They would all go in together, then.

The hallway they were walking down had several doors branching off, but Cas had ignored all of them so far in favor of plunging straight back through the building towards the seaward end. The hall finally dead-ended at a broad pair of double doors behind which they could now hear Rán, catching only a few words of what seemed to be a ceaseless rant. Sam squared his shoulders in preparation to fight… when the doors suddenly blew open on their own.

"Where is it?" Rán's piercing voice shrieked. Sam had barely enough time to register a dark haired woman with a long, blue dress dripping in seawater standing in the doorway, before he was being yanked off his feet into the wide open room beyond.

He fell with a splash and a grunt, taken by surprise by the sudden attack. The hunter coughed and spat out a mouth full of salt water. Arms and legs scrambling to push himself back up, Sam realized that the room was flooded, two inches of water covering the surface of the entire floor—probably the only reason she was able to be there.

"WHERE IS IT?" Rán bellowed again. "Filthy humans, thought I wouldn't smell you there? You bring an angel against me? FOOLS! Give it back, _now_!"

Sam heaved himself upright, just in time to see Rán throw her arms out towards Cas. The angel was flung aside, straight into Sam, so that they both plummeted to the floor again.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Dean shouted, both hands up. "Where is _what_? If you'll tell us what you're looking for-"

"My _gold,_ you cretin! It's _mine_ , MINE!"

"Rán, listen to me," Aileen tried. "We don't have any gold, but-"

"Silence! I know it's here and I want it! _Now_! Or you _all_ die!"

"Shit," Sam gasped as both he and Cas struggled to their feet once again. "Cas, the blade!" No way was she going to calm down long enough to discuss an exchange. The angel nodded, raising his hand that still clenched around his weapon in a death grip.

Though Sam knew his bullets were useless against a pagan deity, he whipped his gun out anyway and fired off three shots in quick succession in the hopes of at least distracting her. Rán jerked back with each hit straight to her chest as Sam ran sideways across the room to pull her attention away from Cas.

It worked… too well. The feral rage in the goddess's face multiplied, but now it was all directed at Sam. The hunter gulped when she bared her teeth and charged.

"Sam!" Aileen cried out from somewhere close by. The younger Winchester saw her move, but didn't realize what she was up to until a jet of water caught Rán in the face, making her stumble and then twist towards the elemental instead.

Sam never even saw the net before it was in the goddess's hand. He was too far away to stop her, and Cas hadn't cleared the distance to use the blade yet. There was nothing he could do as the fishnet flew through the air, straight towards Aileen.

"No!"

Dean's shout echoed across the watery room, turning into an exclamation of surprise and a splash. The closest one to Aileen, he'd managed to knock her out of the way of the net, only to end up snared himself. Cas froze only a few feet from the goddess, blade raised but not daring to get any closer, while Sam and Aileen watched with wide, horrified eyes.

The older hunter thrashed and fought to get out of the net, but the more he struggled, the more tangled he got. He seemed to realize his predicament after a moment, as he finally fell still. No one moved in the flooded room, except Rán as she jerked back on the net to drag Dean through the water closer to her.

"Release him." Cas's low growl broke the silence, but Rán only snorted with cold amusement.

"No. One step closer, angel, and I'll take him to the bottom of the ocean right now. Now give it back!"

"Listen," Sam urged, slowly tucking his gun back into his waistband and showing the goddess his empty hands. "We don't have your gold-"

"LIAR! It's here somewhere, in this city!"

"What makes you say that?" Aileen asked with a hint of desperation. "If you know where it is, maybe we can-"

"A piece was dropped!" Rán snarled. She held up her free hand. A raw nugget of gold sat glittering in her open palm, but disappeared again just as quickly. "I can still smell the stink of filthy human all over it, and I've been following it for days. I _know_ it was brought here! I want it back, if I have to flood the entire city to get it!"

"What part of 'we don't have it' do you not get?" Dean growled from the net. He thrashed again, with no success in detangling himself from the mesh. "Now look, you-"

" _Silence_ , you worm. Fine… you have something of mine." The goddess's face tilted up with a haughty, cruel-hearted smirk that chilled Sam's very blood, as she jerked on the net Dean was trapped in. "And I have something of yours."

Sam's heart stopped beating, his panicked gaze locking with his brother's. "No!" the younger hunter shouted. "No, Rán, it wasn't us-"

But she was already disappearing. There was a flash of tan and silver, Cas lunging forward in a desperate attempt to stop the goddess from taking Dean away. The angel's fingertips just brushed the net, and then all three of them were gone, leaving Sam and Aileen alone with their dismay.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel landed with a splash, immediately clawing his way back to his feet with angel blade in hand. Even in the pitch black, his angel senses blazed with a warning that Rán was practically on top of him. More to the point, she was practically on top of Dean, still struggling against the inescapable mesh of her fishnet.

"Cas!" Dean's voice shouted out in the darkness. "Cas?!"

"I'm here, Dean," the angel growled in reassurance as he raised his blade. "Where have you taken us, Rán?"

The goddess snorted in laughter. The air around them began to glow with an eerie aqua blue light, giving Castiel a better visual of the scene.

They were still on Earth, he was certain of that. The angel's eyes swept the rocky cavern they had appeared in, frown deepening. Without the stars to help orient him to hemisphere and latitude, he had only his best guess based on Rán's behavior and the length of their trip—he was confident that they were still on the Californian coast.

The angel couldn't see an entrance or an exit, completely hemmed in by the rocks. The floor of the cavern was flooded, as the building had been, which allowed Rán to move freely but seemed dangerous for the hunter trapped at her feet. Dean was wriggling like a landed fish in half a foot of water, but the goddess still had a firm hold of the net and he would only tire himself out if he didn't hold still. The water must have come from somewhere, though; Castiel could only assume that there was an underwater passage out of the cavern, which meant the floor they were standing on didn't extend through the entire space.

All Rán would have to do, then, was push Dean off the ledge and he would drown.

Castiel wasn't going to give her the chance.

The angel charged without warning, crashing into the pagan deity hard enough to fling her off-balance, away from Dean. She stumbled back with a cry, clutching at the net as it was ripped from her grasp. Castiel heard his human friend start thrashing harder than ever to get it off of him, but his focus was locked on Rán as she bellowed in anger.

"I want my gold back!" she yelled, finding her balance and launching herself at the angel with hands clawing at his face.

"We don't have it!" Castiel retorted. He gasped as her nails raked across his cheek, nearly taking an eye. Allowing his fighting instincts to take over, the angel slashed out with his blade. He was rewarded with a shriek of pain as Rán stumbled away. Castiel's glare narrowed in satisfaction. His blade _could_ hurt her.

For a second, the two stared each other down, breathing hard. There was no more talk; Castiel flipped his angel blade around, waiting, while Rán clenched and unclenched her bare fists. The hatred and malice in her maddened eyes reminded the angel of Lucifer, but he refused to let them make him falter.

She moved like lightning, surging through the water quicker than Castiel could dodge aside. The goddess bore them both down to the flooded floor, shrieking as she slashed again and again at the angel's face. Castiel swung a fist, his powerful strike throwing her off of him. Before he could get up or maneuver his blade in to finish her off, though, Rán had swung a long, limber leg around his torso and flipped them both back down so that the angel was pinned under her on his right side. His sword arm was caught beneath him, and her ferocious, clawed hands managed to score several marks across his face before Castiel could fight the goddess off.

With a grunt of exertion, the angel threw all of his weight backwards, rolling on the ground so that she toppled off of him into the shallow water with a splash. He slithered out as quickly as possible, slashing his angel blade behind him as he went.

Rán's surprised scream of pain was the only motivation he needed. With eyes darkening with intensity, Castiel spun and threw himself at the goddess. The bluish glow of the cavern brought a cyan light to the silver as it flashed this way and that, scoring stripe after stripe even as she tried to dance back out of the way. Her howls of pain echoed on the rock surfaces and each one was filled with a little more fear.

Finally, she could back up no farther, and Castiel lunged.

Nothing. The angel's eyes narrowed at the blank wall, realizing with frustration that she must have disappeared through the water. Then he heard a choked cry from behind him. Castiel whirled, heart sinking.

"Drop it," Rán hissed. Her light illuminated Dean's face as the goddess clutched the end of net, forcing Dean flat on his back with her foot on his unprotected form. "Drop the blade or he and his soul are mine forever."

"Cas, don't you dare stop-" Dean shouted, then cut off when she stomped on his stomach with a vicious snarl. The hunter doubled up with an agonized groan.

Castiel advanced a step in fury at the goddess for the dishonorable attack, but she only yanked Dean partially up off the floor as evidence of her collateral. The angel froze.

Rán's lips curled, eyes squinting a bit at Castiel. "What's this?" she drawled. "An angel who actually cares about one measly human? You have a chance to take down a _goddess_ , but you would be stopped at the threat to _one_ soul? Goodness, you pigeons have certainly changed."

Though Castiel could have made the argument that it wasn't just "one soul", it was _Dean's_ soul, he also knew the truth: it didn't matter whose soul it was. He was a shepherd of _all_ his father's creations, not just the ones he preferred. Yes… he had changed. But not necessarily for the worse.

"Release him," the angel tried, but Rán's eyes grew cold in the watery chamber.

"Drop. That. Blade," she snarled, dragging Dean farther back with every step until, with a splash, they reached the edge of the rock slab that made the cavern floor. The hunter failed to suppress his gasp of shock as he ended up nearly fully immersed in the ocean water surrounding them in the underwater cave, held up only by the goddess.

"Stop!" Castiel's grip on the blade tightened, but he shifted with uncertainty. This wasn't a standoff he was going to win, and from the triumph in Rán's eyes, she knew it, too.

"C-Cas, don't!" Dean shouted, teeth chattering. "Fight her, it doesn't matter what happens to me-" He disappeared entirely as the goddess dunked him under the surface, making Castiel attempt to lunge forward again until Rán hoisted the human back up to hold in front of her. Dean shivered and gasped, clearly shaken but no less spirited as he tried uselessly to twist away, still ensnared in her net.

"What's it gonna be, angel?" Rán hissed, her previous rage hardening to lethal iciness, colder even than the water that surrounded them. "Last chance. Throw that accursed blade over here, or say goodbye to your human."

"Alright." The angel knew she had the upper hand, and every moment he hesitated would just be worse for Dean. Face tightening with frustration, Castiel released his death grip on the angel blade. He tossed it towards the goddess and watched with a rush of anger as she stooped to snatch it up in her own unworthy hands.

Now she had them both.

Rán took a deep breath, closing her eyes long enough for her mask of rage to melt into smug triumph. "Now then," she snapped, dropping Dean back to floor but not releasing the net or the weapon. "Here's how it's going to work. You stay _exactly_ where you are. Since you care so much about this pitiful human, I don't have to remind you what happens to him if you even _think_ about attacking. Your wings… they're broken, aren't they? Otherwise you would have used them by now. So if I take him and leave you here, you couldn't follow, not in time to save him. So I suggest you hold _very_ still, and I mean don't even _twitch._ "

Castiel glared at her, but remained immobile as a marble statue. "This will accomplish nothing," he warned her. "As you said, my wings are not functioning. I can't follow you to your home, which means I couldn't have possibly been there to take your gold. Nor could Dean. None of us have what you're looking for!"

"Then you will _find out_ who did!" she shrieked, a sudden tempest replacing her previous calm, as changing as the ocean itself. "Find it, if you want the human to live! Find it, if you don't want me to rip those useless wings off your self-righteous body and feed you to my daughters! Find it, find it, _find it_!"

"I can't do that if you won't allow me to move!" Castiel shouted back. "Return Dean to me and take us back to-"

"No!"

"L-look, you bucket of crazy," Dean spoke up. "We don't have it. But we c-can find it. My brother and me, and Cas, it's wh-what we do. If you ever want to see your gold again-"

"Your brother," the goddess cut him off, eyes narrowing. "The tall dreamboat?"

Dean snorted and grumbled something under his breath, but Rán clearly picked up on the assent, as her lips started to curl into a cruel smile. She turned back to Castiel and slid the captured angel blade through the fishnet to brush Dean's throat, making him freeze.

"Rán-" the angel started with a warning snarl, but she waved him off.

"You have a means for contacting the dreamboat?"

Castiel paused, feeling the weight of his cell phone in his pocket. He couldn't be sure where Rán was going with this, whether admitting he could contact Sam would put the hunter and Aileen in greater danger or not. But it seemed they had no other choice but to play this out, and the angel nodded.

"Good. Do it. Now."

* * *

 

Sam whipped around, eyes desperately searching the corners of the room where his brother had just been seconds before. "No!" he shouted, heart compressing with terror. Cas was gone, too. "Bring them back!"

"Where did they go?" Aileen asked, breathless. "You don't think…"

"I'm trying not to," Sam replied as his hands balled into fists. His jaw tightened and he cast around the room one last time even though he knew it was useless. They weren't here. Whether he had just lost his brother and best friend forever, or if the goddess had simply run to a new lair, Sam couldn't say and wouldn't find out from standing there. "We gotta move."

The elemental nodded, though Sam could see the worry in her expression. Together, the two hurried back down the long hallway, neither voicing their fears out loud. It was everything the hunter could do to keep himself calm and in control. If Rán had taken Dean… he was unreachable. His soul would be lost to the underworld. And what about Cas? Would she shake him loose and keep running with Dean, or would the angel be lost as well? Cas didn't have a soul for her to keep, but that was even worse: if she killed him, he would simply be _gone_. Forever.

Sam took three deep, steadying breaths as this thought threatened to overwhelm him with panic. Okay. There were still options. There was still a chance. They were Winchesters, he just needed to figure out their next move.

"Sam," Aileen spoke up as they broke out from the research station into the twilight. "It's stopped raining."

The hunter glanced up at the dark sky. "I wish I knew if that was good news," he muttered. What if the goddess had deserted the area—with Dean and Cas? Maybe he could summon Rán, there was surely a ritual. He could bargain with her. Trap her. Plead with her. There had to be _something_.

"Wait," the elemental puffed, a hand falling on Sam's arm as she brought them both to a halt. "Sam, just wait. What would she gain from killing them?"

"What did she gain from killing _any_ of the people she's already taken?" Sam pointed out, then wished he hadn't. "You can't reason with her. You saw her, she wasn't even willing to listen."

"She said she had something of ours, though," Aileen insisted. "We have something of hers, she has something of ours… call me crazy but that sounds like a hostage exchange."

"Except we don't _have_ what she wants!"

Aileen shrugged, holding out her hands. "I know," she said, voice low and soothing, forcing Sam to realize that he'd started yelling at her. "My point is, she wouldn't have taken them too far if she did plan to use them. Look, she can only move through water, right? That narrows down where she could be, and it can't be anywhere underwater or she wouldn't have live hostages. Why don't we head to the beach and start there? There's animals in the water who can help us."

It was only logical, and the sense of what she was saying allowed Sam to take another deep breath and force his panic down a bit further. He couldn't lose his head here. "Okay," he agreed. "Okay, you're right. I just… damn it, every time I get one of them back, we lose all over again. I can't lose them now, Aileen. Not after everything. Not like this."

"You won't," she stubbornly maintained. "It's not over."

Sam nodded, then turned and led the way down the unkempt path towards the shore. They had gotten out of tougher corners than this, after all. Cas had his blade, and if Rán was stupid enough to underestimate him, then this might all be over quicker than they'd expected.

Even as Sam allowed himself this hopeful thought, his cell phone suddenly buzzed from inside his pocket, making him jump. "Wait! Hold on," he said, rushing to dig it out while his heart hammered with hope. The hunter fished his phone out at last, taking one look at the caller ID and nearly collapsing with relief. Cas must have defeated Rán after all, though without wings they were mostly likely stuck somewhere.

Punching the button to accept the call on speaker, Sam held the phone between himself and Aileen and demanded, "Cas? You alright? What happened, where are you?"

There was a long, agonizing pause, stoking Sam's fear even higher. Finally, the angel replied,

"I'm… I'm not allowed to tell you that."

Sam could hear the tension in his best friend's voice, the disgruntled admission telling the rest of the story: they were still captives. He and Aileen traded a quick worried look, hopes draining. The hunter took a deep breath. At least Cas was alive. "Is Dean…?"

"We're both fine," Cas assured him. "Dean's here. She has him- alright! I wasn't going to say _where_ , leave him alone!"

"Cas?!"

Sam's knuckles were turning white, he held the phone so tightly. Aileen set a hand on his arm again, her own expression pinched in fear for the hunter. There was a quiet moment, before the angel spoke again.

"He's here too, that's all she'll let me say. Sam… she wants to make a deal. She says… get the gold back for her, and she'll release us." There was another short pause, before Cas went on, "If not…"

He didn't finish, but the repercussions were all too clear. There was no need to consider the terms; if it was truly that cut and dried, it was even better than Sam could have hoped, with one obvious problem.

"We don't know where the gold is," he reminded the angel. "We'll take the deal, but… we've got _nothing_ , Cas."

Sam listened as the angel relayed this back to Rán. The hunter winced as he heard the goddess shouting in the background, her words coming over the line clearly:

"Start by looking at whatever filthy human suddenly got a pile of gold!"

"Did you hear that?" Cas asked.

"I heard."

There was another pause, Rán rumbling something to the angel, but this time it was too low for Sam or Aileen to catch. They traded another look while they waited for her to finish, the elemental biting her lip slightly with anxiety. Finally, Cas sighed.

"She says you have one hour," he explained. "Bring the gold to the research station. She'll bring Dean with her, and if you hold up your end, she'll leave him with you. An even trade."

Sam's heart tightened again. "What about _you_?" he demanded. "The deal's for both of you! If she doesn't give you back, too-"

"She's going to leave me somewhere else," Cas explained tensely. "She'll tell you where after she's gone. Rán doesn't trust you, Sam. She knows you've killed other deities. She's using me to buy herself time to get away."

"Well, I don't trust _her_!" the hunter snapped. "How do we know she'll tell us where to find you once she's gone? Why would she? I don't like this!"

"Sam…" There was another pause, this time heavy with meaning. With nothing but his tone and his silence, the angel conveyed everything he was thinking to Sam, who clutched the phone in horror.

"No. _No,_ Cas," he whispered. "Don't even think about it."

"Sam." _She's killed too many people to allow her to live._

But to pull a double cross, to kill Rán as soon as they had Dean safely back, would mean to sacrifice Cas, to maybe never find him. It wasn't an option.

"No," Sam said. "We'll give her the gold. We'll find a way. Hang tight, Cas… we're getting you _both_ back."

There was another short pause, Cas's muffled voice telling the goddess that Sam and Aileen accepted the terms. The young hunter listened, brow creased in worry, waiting for the response. Cas was quiet on the other end for a moment, then finally returned with,

"She says don't be late. I have to hang up now, Sam. If I don't destroy the phone, she'll hurt Dean again."

Sam forced himself not to react to the use of the word 'again', knowing he only had time for one final, parting message. "We _will_ come back for you, Cas."

The line clicked off, and Sam slowly put the phone back in his pocket. One hour… how were they supposed to find Rán's gold and get it all down to the research station in an hour? And if they didn't, how was he supposed to live with himself for failing Dean and Cas? It was tempting to give in to despair, but Sam couldn't do that.

"Where do we even start, in a city the size of Santa Cruz?" Aileen asked, looking back inland with a hopeless sigh. "I mean, I doubt they just left it sitting out for us."

"Like she said," Sam replied, brain already starting to chug away at the puzzle. "Someone here recently got a crap-ton of gold. We figure out who, we can find it."

"Yeah, see, that's still not making sense to me," Aileen pointed out now with a frown. She crossed her arms, looking from the ocean to the city. "I mean, this… goddess… she lives in some other realm or something, right? I'm not really sure what that even means, but it's not even in this world really, that's what you were saying? And Castiel… he said only a few supernatural things could even get there?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"So if Rán is positive she smelled humans on her gold, or whatever, if she's sure it's a regular person who's got it, then they _must_ know something supernatural, right? Something that could get it for them? I mean, there can't be _that_ many supernatural things running around Santa Cruz."

Sam snorted. "You'd be surprised," he muttered. "But you're right. Wherever it is now, they must have gotten something else to travel to the underworld. Here's the thing: no monster would just hand over a truckload of gold without getting something out of it in return."

"Wait, like what? What do you trade for something like that?"

The hunter's expression grew stony and dark. "You'd be amazed what people are willing to give up to make a deal. I bet I know exactly what happened."

Aileen cocked her head. "Wait… you do?"

"I need to make a call." And so help him, if his brother and their best friend were on the hook because of this… Jerking his phone back out of his pocket, Sam punched a button. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Kill… who?"

The young Winchester glared out at the choppy sea as the phone call was connected. "Crowley," he snapped. "We need to talk."


	8. Chapter 8

Aileen was trying to keep her cool, but every time she thought she'd surely gotten through all the surprises these Winchesters could throw at her, one of them would turn around and hand her something else. She listened, half amazed and half horrified, as Sam exchanged angry words with this Crowley guy. The elemental was becoming more and more certain that Crowley wasn't a human.

And he was definitely not an angel.

"I don't care!" Sam was snarling into the phone. "This has demon deal written all over it, and I don't _care_ if you're not in sales anymore! Are you in charge or not?"

There was a pause as Crowley answered and Aileen tried to convince herself that this probably wasn't exactly what it sounded like. Whatever Crowley said, it didn't seem to be to Sam's liking.

"You're not a king if you don't even know what your own demons are doing! You're responsible for them! Act like it!"

Another pause, while the elemental wrapped her head around the word "king". And "demons". Of course, why not? Beside her, Sam spun around suddenly, clenching his fist. His face darkened enough that Aileen took a step back in spite of herself.

"I don't think you're getting it, Crowley," the hunter rumbled, low and lethal. "Your demon stole gold from a _goddess_ , and now she's got Dean and Cas. You ever met Rán, Crowley? 'Cause you're going to, when I tell her it was _you_." He paused, then let out a bark of laughter. "I don't give a damn if that's a lie, you think I'd even _hesitate_ , if it saved them? How long have you known me, Crowley?"

After a second, Sam's expression cleared, shifting into a smirk as he glanced at Aileen and nodded. "He's going to check his records," he whispered. The elemental could only offer a weak nod in return. Sam switched his phone to speaker, handing it to Aileen to hold while he dug into his pocket for a pen and scrap of paper.

"Alright, Moose," an irate, accented voice grumbled after a second. "Turns out one of my girls in sales did score a soul for a vault of gold. Records indicate it was about a week ago."

"That must be it," Sam said with a frown. "I need to know who made the deal. We need to get the gold back. He's somewhere in Santa Cruz, right?"

"The name's James Wessen. Now if you'll excuse me, Moose, I've much more important things to do than fix all of _your_ problems for you." He hung up without another word. Sam seemed unperturbed, slipping his phone back into his jacket, while Aileen could only stare. The hunter noticed her look and paused, raising his eyebrows in question.

She took a deep breath, then asked, "You... have a demon... on speed dial?"

Sam snorted and shrugged. "Uh… yeah. King of Hell, actually. It's kind of a-"

"-Long story," Aileen finished with him, before holding up her hands and shaking her head. "I don't even _want_ to know, I really don't."

The hunter offered her a quick smile, but it vanished into a grim frown as he motioned towards the Impala. "We have a name now. I say we go pay this Wessen guy a little visit. There's only about forty-five minutes left before..."

He trailed off, a flash of worry slipping through his fierce expression. Aileen nodded her understanding, trying not to think about the danger Dean and Castiel were in.

There was only one James Wessen listed in all of Santa Cruz, which was a stroke of luck in their favor. Aileen pulled up the address on Sam's nav app so she could direct while he drove. The house was a little more than ten minutes away along the bay. The roads were mostly empty due to the earlier monsoon, though, allowing Sam to make it in just over five. Even still, Aileen couldn't shake the ominous feeling of a clock quickly ticking out of time.

"Whoa," she murmured as they pulled into the drive. The elemental had to lean forward to see the house at its full height through the windshield. An enormous wrought-iron fence surrounded the house and yard, forcing Sam to stop just outside. "Think he's home?"

"Guarantee it," the hunter replied, also ducking his head to squint up at the small mansion. "Guy just brought home a vault of gold… he's probably counting every piece. Question is, how do we get in?"

They sat in silence for a second, contemplating the situation. Aileen could only see two possibilities… either they rang the bell or snuck over the fence and hoped there wasn't any serious security. With a house this size, though, what were the odds that there wouldn't be some kind of alarm? From the shrewdness in Sam's gaze, he was probably considering the same thing. After a moment, he straightened and rolled down the window.

"Ringing the bell?" Aileen asked.

"Ringing the bell." The hunter punched a button on the box that extended towards the driveway on a metal post. He frowned when there was no response after several long seconds, then hit it again.

"Maybe he's _not_ home," Aileen whispered, but was almost immediately followed by a crackling of static over the intercom.

"Yes, what?" a harried voice snapped. "Look, I'm not interested, alright? Please, just go."

"Mr. Wessen?" Sam called. "James Wessen?"

"What? Yes. So what?"

Aileen raised her eyebrows at the rude tone, trading a look with Sam. This guy definitely sounded nervous. She hoped he was willing to talk to them, though if he _did_ resist… well, making deals with demons was probably on the same illegal level as alchemy, so the elemental was within her rights to use her powers if need be. After all, Castiel and Dean were counting on them.

Sam leaned towards the box again. "Mr. Wessen, we need to speak with you," he insisted, sounding strangely earnest and heartfelt instead of angry and intense. "It's important. We think you might be in danger. And I think you know why."

No reply. Aileen waited, hardly daring to breathe. Finally, there was a short buzz, and the gate started to swing open to allow them inside. The Impala crept forward up the long drive to the front of the house.

"Alright, let me do the talking," Sam murmured as he turned off the car.

"No argument from me," the elemental replied. "Hey, do you have any water bottles in here?" She was already wishing she'd taken two minutes to fill some up while they were on the beach. Aileen didn't like walking into something like this without any kind of weapon, especially to talk to a guy who sounded as twitchy as this one.

Sam twisted in his seat and reached down behind them with one long arm. "Hang on… there might be one rolling around. Got it." He straightened up again, holding out a mostly full Aquafina towards Aileen. "Is one bottle of water gonna be enough for you to do anything?"

Aileen took the offered bottle and smiled. "You'd be amazed what I can do with one bottle of water."

Feeling better now that she was armed, the elemental pushed the door open and stepped out into the rapidly graying night. She heard a creak of metal and then a slam as Sam got out to join her. Conscious of the ticking clock, they didn't stop to come up with a plan, instead hurrying towards the solid front door. Aileen hoped James was willing to help them… but she also had plenty of experience with the greed of humankind, and the havoc it could wreak.

When they reached the front door, Sam raised a fist and rapped on the wood a few times. It opened just enough to reveal a pair of suspicious eyes that glared at them from within.

"Mr. Wessen?" Sam asked, much calmer than Aileen knew he must be feeling.

"Who are you?" James demanded. He didn't open the door any further.

"My name is Sam," the hunter replied, gesturing to himself and then nodding to the elemental. "This is Aileen. We're friends, we're here to help."

"Help with what?"

Sam remained unruffled by the rude, almost accusatory tone. He tilted his head towards James, replying, "I think you know what. May we come in? There's things you need to know."

"And you would know anything about it, would you?" James snapped, glaring at Sam and then shifting his eyes over to Aileen. They hovered on her a bit longer than she was comfortable with, but the elemental forced herself to stay steady. Beside her, Sam nodded.

"Yes. We would."

James stared at Aileen for another minute, then glanced at Sam with pursed lips, apparently considering him. Sam's sincerity seemed to have done the trick, though; James finally stepped back, opening the door wider to let them in.

From the overall impression of the house's exterior, Aileen had been expecting the inside to be richly decorated, full of the general trappings of a wealthy man. As her eyes slid over the threadbare furniture and the empty walls, though, she couldn't help feel a bit sorry for James, living in such a hollow shell of a home.

Not that she was about to let her guard down; James's hands were shoved into his pockets, and the elemental had a strong suspicion that he was holding a gun. One cautiously shared look with Sam told her that the hunter had noticed it, too. Aileen clutched her water bottle, removing the top under the pretense of taking a drink, just in case.

James Wessen led the way into the living room, gesturing to a ratty couch in the middle, but taking up his own seat at the table across from them. His face was guarded and unconvinced, a little too antsy for Aileen's comfort, but Sam seemed completely calm.

"What's this about, then?" James demanded.

Sam leaned forward. "It's about the gold, Mr. Wessen."

Their host paled, jumping back up to his feet and leaning forward over the table. "How do you know about it? Who told you?"

"Let's just say, we know people in low places," Sam replied, folding his hands. "Mr. Wessen, that woman who gave it to you… what did she tell you? Did she explain who she was, what the exchange would be?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, but his eyes twitched down the hall just long enough to tell Aileen he was lying.

So he _did_ know. Yet he'd gone through with it. How could anyone trade their _eternal_ resting place just to buy a mere ten years of wealth? Aileen would never be able to understand the full insanity of human avarice.

"I don't know where you're getting your information," James went on now, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, "but that broad in Boston was just some local tail I was banging, just a coincidence. The gold was an inheritance-"

"It was a demon deal," Sam flatly stated, his calm interrupted by just a hint of the same annoyance that Aileen felt at the man's nonchalant misogyny. "That gold… do you even know where it came from?"

"I think you should leave."

"The demon screwed you," Sam snapped, voice rising just enough that James sat back down to glare at him instead. "The gold had to come from somewhere, did you ever think about that? James, listen to me… that gold is putting you in danger."

James was silent, holding the hunter's gaze, but then he sat back in his chair with a deflated sigh. "I knew it," he muttered under his breath with a small shake of his head. "I should have put that bitch in her place a little sooner."

"What happened?" Sam asked, his irritation increasingly evident. Aileen herself was biting her tongue to keep from speaking up, but she frankly wasn't surprised that this demon would have left James in the lurch, if this was how he talked to women.

"Look, I didn't think anything was actually going to happen!" Wessen protested. "I was in Boston on business but it all fell through, like everything else. I went to a bar, struck out with some bitches, so I was just gonna go back to the hotel and then she was there. Said she was in town on business, too, and I looked like a guy who deserved a win for a change. She said she could give me anything I wanted."

James paused, defensive expression shifting to a smirk as he admitted, "I thought she was talking about…" His eyes flicked to Aileen, then back to Sam as he pointedly finished, " _you_ know?"

Oh, she'd had just about enough of this piece of work. Aileen's eyes narrowed, but Sam shifted forward before she could say anything. There was something almost protective in the gesture, putting himself between James and Aileen, and his face was definitely darker now.

" _Anyway_ ," the hunter growled. "What happened? You told her what you wanted was gold?"

"Well, why not?" Wessen demanded, jumping to his feet yet again and starting to pace, a hand running through already frazzled hair. "Look at this place!" He laughed, but it was bitter instead of humorous. "My crazy aunt's. Gave me the house when she died, but left all her money to charity or some shit. You know what it costs to upkeep a house this size, in Santa Cruz for god's sakes?"

"If it's so expensive," Aileen couldn't help but grit out, "why didn't you try downsizing, instead of jumping straight to selling your soul?"

Sam set a hand on her arm but didn't protest. James turned his sneer on Aileen, voice scathing as he replied, "And give up the one good thing I really have? I needed the money."

"So you know the trade was for your soul," Sam pressed, drawing Wessen's attention back to him. "You know the deal is for ten years. If you survive that long. What did you mean when you said you 'knew it'?"

James growled, raking through his hair again so that pieces were starting to stand up, giving him a lunatic look. "She said the deal had to be sealed with a kiss. So here I am, thinking we're about to get somewhere, know what I mean? She takes me out to the harbor… and then just vanishes! And the gold, I thought it would be waiting here at _home_ for me, but no, it's just sitting there on the dock in _Boston_! So then who's stuck trying to crate it all up and bring it all the way across the friggin' country? It took forever just to hire a van and have it brought to the dock, since I obviously wasn't going to just leave the gold sitting there. Then keeping an eye on these damn foreigners packing it for me, making sure they weren't trying to pocket any of it. One imbecile even dropped some of it off the dock, can you believe it?"

"I'm having trouble believing _any_ of this," Aileen muttered, but James ignored her.

"Can't take it on a plane, they'd ask questions," he rambled on. "So I have to _drive_ it all the way home. But… I can't explain it, the whole time I just… I felt like I was being followed." James stopped his pacing, turning back towards them with a light shudder. "I thought she must have stolen it from a bank, or a private collector or something. I just can't shake the feeling that someone's been behind me every step of the way." His face turned suspicious. "And now here _you_ are at my door. So… what's this 'danger' you think I'm in?"

"Let me guess," Sam asked, shrewd eyes narrowing. "Did you stop in Kansas for the night?"

"Two nights. The waitress was a fine piece of ass, and I figured I'd earned it."

Plastic crunched in Aileen's hand as her grip tightened on the water bottle. It was everything she could do not to slap this guy into next week, and the elemental wasn't normally prone to violence. But there were more important things at stake here… Dean and Castiel were in trouble, and Sam obviously had experience drawing a story out of someone, so Aileen remained silent. Sam could do the talking… but if it came down to it, she would do the walking.

"It's all making sense, then," Sam muttered, leaning forward. "You gave her time to catch up. She followed you all the way across the country, hopping through the lakes. That gold piece she had… it must have been part of what you said was dropped into the harbor at Boston. That's why she was so sure it smelled like a human."

"What are you talking about?"

"That gold _was_ stolen from a private collector!" Sam snapped. "A pagan goddess, to be exact! And she's pissed! Maybe you noticed that storm earlier? That's her. She's _here_ and she wants her gold back. James… you have to return it. She'll destroy this entire city trying to get it back from you. That demon put a huge bulls-eye on your back, and there's no telling how many innocent people are going to be hurt in the meantime."

James moved like lightning, metal flashing in the dusty light. Sam and Aileen froze, staring at the pistol he was pointing in their direction, cold and crazed. He was just jittery enough that he might actually pull the trigger.

"James-" Sam tried to say, but Wessen overrode him.

"You must think I'm an idiot!" he shouted. "Goddess, huh? _You're_ the ones who've been following me, aren't you? Trying to steal it for yourself? I _knew_ it!"

"No-" Sam started. James cut him off again, this time by lunging a step closer with gun extended. The hunter held up his hands but Wessen refused to be pacified.

"I set off the silent alarm as soon as we sat down," he snapped. "Security company will be here any minute now, but I could just shoot you and say I was defending my home. Get down on the floor, pretty boy."

"Listen to me-"

"NOW!"

Oh yeah, he was definitely edgy enough that he would shoot with almost no provocation. Aileen's heart was pounding with dismay at how fast the situation had spiraled out of control, but her head was clear enough to focus on the only thing that mattered: protecting Sam. Maybe she wasn't much use against angels and demons and goddesses… but humans, she could handle.

Nudging Sam's foot with her own, Aileen silently prodded him to go ahead and do as James said. The Winchester didn't look at her, eyes still locked on the gun pointed at them, but he apparently trusted her enough to slowly slide off the couch and hunch down on the floor instead. The pistol remained trained on him, a tall, muscled man compared to the relatively unthreatening Aileen.

That was her advantage, and she used it. The second that Sam was out of the way, Aileen grasped the water in the bottle with her power and shot it with the force of a firehose straight at Wessen. The stream hit him square in the wrist, so hard that it knocked the gun from his hand. James spun towards her, eyes wide and mouth gaping, only to be struck by another blast of the water, and then another. Over and over, Aileen pulled the jet stream in just to lash back out at the man. He yelped and held up his hands to try warding her off, but the elemental steadily drove him back into the wall.

"First the demon, then the goddess, now me," she snapped. "Don't underestimate an angry woman. You move, and I can make the water go straight down into your lungs. You want to drown standing up in your own home?"

"You'll never make it out of here with the gold before the security team gets here," James snarled back, wide-eyed with fear as he stared at the writhing ball of water she was now holding in front of his face.

Unfortunately, Aileen knew he was right. There was no time to get the gold, especially if there was as much as he'd hinted. They needed to get out—now.

"Sam, the control for the gate is on the wall," Aileen said, still holding James at bay with the threatening aqueous orb.

The hunter jumped back up to his feet and hurried to the control pad secured to the wall. He pushed a button, then ripped the panel out, leaving only the wires.

"Got it," he growled, swooping down to snatch Wessen's gun from the floor. "Let's go."

Aileen stepped backwards slowly, pulling the water back into her bottle now that Sam had the drop on James. The furious man didn't say a word, just watched the two with baleful eyes until they'd reached the front hall. Satisfied that he wasn't going to come after them, Aileen and Sam turned and ran for it, racing back to jump into the Impala. The motor kicked up almost before Sam had turned her over, then they were peeling down the drive and out onto the road.

Just in the nick of time, too, Aileen thought as she twisted in her seat to watch out the back window. An imposing, black SUV was just turning into the driveway, and she hated to think about the delay _that_ might have caused.

Safe… but no better off. Aileen couldn't feel all that relieved, and didn't try to break the tense silence. Finally, Sam glanced at her and asked,

"So… were you actually going to…?"

Aileen returned the hunter's look, frowning a bit until she realized what he meant. "What, kill him?" she asked. The elemental shook her head. "I would have done whatever I needed to, to protect you. But no. I would have tried very hard not to kill him."

He returned his attention to the road ahead, illuminated by the car's headlights now that night had fully fallen. "Huh. Thanks."

"Anytime." Aileen pulled a face and amended, "But let's _not_ do that again."

"Yeah, let's not."

Remembering their timeline, Aileen glanced down at the illuminated clock on the dashboard, and her heart sank. Two minutes after the hour, and they had no gold to give back to Rán… only their word about where it was. They were already late, and Aileen could only silently hope that they weren't _too_ late. From the creaking of the steering wheel under Sam's white-knuckled grip, and the forced, deep breaths he was taking, she knew he had the same fear, that Dean was dead already.

"Use my phone," Sam ordered shortly. "Call a taxi. Get out of here, Aileen. She's just crazy enough to wipe the city off the map."

"We're not done yet," Aileen reminded him.

"We have nothing," he returned, voice sharp with worry. "I can only hope she'll spare Dean and Cas if I tell her where it is, and that's assuming she hasn't already killed them. I have to at least try to save my brother but there's no sense in letting her kill you, too. I know you think it's your duty, but-"

"Sam… stop. I'm going with you. And it's not just about duty."

Sam shot her a curious look, worry tangible even in the darkness. Aileen's eyes softened.

"I have a big brother, too," she murmured. "So come on. Let's go save yours."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to take a minute to say how much I've loved every bit of the fanfiction experience for the last three and a half years. But my very favorite part? Going to the story stats and realizing that, while sitting at home in America, I'm connecting with people from over a DOZEN countries! :D Germany. England. Mexico. Serbia. Poland. The Philippines. The Netherlands. To name just a few! I've chatted with so many people from other places, and I love doing it! So danke, gracias, Спасибо, Хвала вам, bedankt, and so many thank yous to everyone who is following and connecting. I'm from a place that's big on the neighborly "come in and sit a while", so please know that no matter who you are or where you're from, I will always welcome you to come in and sit a while. ^_^
> 
> And now, let's get back to Cas and Dean and see what's been going on with them while Sam and Aileen were busy with James. I'll give you a hint... nothing good... o.O

This was not enjoyable.

It wasn't as though Castiel had never been taken prisoner before, or used as a hostage. It wasn't as though having his life in immediate jeopardy was a new experience. It wasn't like he was unused to remaining still for long periods of time, not moving or speaking, simply waiting. On the contrary, this was all too familiar of a scene for the warrior angel.

What was irking him, however, was the danger this posed to Dean. Castiel could tell that for Dean even the dire peril they were in couldn't quite alleviate the sheer boredom of having to lie there, stuck in the net for a full hour without even being allowed to talk.

Not that Dean _hadn't_ had plenty to say. In the end, Castiel himself had all but commanded his friend to stop talking, as each smart remark had earned another harsh kick or blow to the hunter. Leave it to Dean, the angel thought with exasperation. Thankfully, his friend had finally curbed his tongue and resigned himself to waiting.

So there they had waited… Dean stuck like a fish in the net, shivering so hard from the Pacific seawater that Castiel was starting to fear hypothermia would set it in… Rán standing over the hunter with one hand holding the net and the other the blade… and Castiel himself across the cavern floor in a foot of water, as stationary as a statue to keep the goddess from hurting Dean.

Rán must have a better internal clock than the angel, Castiel decided, as he could find no discernible marker for telling the time. Perhaps she felt the rising of the tide. Either way, it felt like much longer than an hour before the goddess finally shifted in the eerily lit cavern.

"Time's almost up," she snapped. "Alright, angel. You're coming with me. If everyone plays nice, I'll tell those hunters where they can find you after I'm long gone. But one false move, angel… just one…" Rán hoisted the net up slightly to remind Castiel that Dean's soul hung in the balance.

Castiel replied with a clipped nod; he wouldn't try to fight her as long as Dean was in danger. He was hopeful that whatever she did to him, perhaps he would be able to escape on his own and come help Sam and Dean defeat her. He was still a trifle irked that Sam refused to just kill Rán as soon as Dean was safely returned, instead of worrying about him.

Touched… but irked. Destroying the goddess so that no more innocent people would be hurt was much more important than his own life.

Rán seemed to be waiting for a verbal confirmation from him, so the angel gruffly said, "I understand."

"Cas, listen to me," Dean spoke up, wriggling a bit in the net. "We'll come for you, okay? No matter what, we'll come back for you."

The angel almost smiled. "I know."

"So touching," Rán drawled with a sneer. "You'd better just pray the tall dreamboat shows up with my gold. As for you…" She looked down at Dean. Then, with a snap of her wrist almost too fast for Castiel to follow, she whipped the net away and dumped the hunter over the edge of the rock shelf they were standing on. He fell with a splash into the frigid water, his surprised shout cutting off with a gurgle as he briefly disappeared below the surface.

"Dean!" Castiel shouted. The agreement was driven from his mind in the face of Dean's predicament, and he raced forward to the floor's edge. " _Dean_!"

The hunter reappeared with another gasp, eyes huge with shock as the freezing water dulled his reflexes. Castiel dropped to his knees, ignoring Rán completely and reaching out an arm to haul his friend back to safer, if not warmer, ground.

"C-Cas, l-look out!" Dean stuttered as the angel heaved him onto the solid ledge. The hunter tried to lurch forward, but he was shaking too hard and Castiel was too distracted to notice Rán behind him until it was too late. The coils of the net fell over him, tangling around the angel and then jerking him away from Dean.

"Let's see you fly out of _this_ ," Rán snapped with a mocking smile as Castiel fell at her feet. "I'll wager my net is strong enough to bind even an angel's grace."

Castiel's mouth tightened to a thin line, knowing that she was right. Though his instinct was to struggle against the rope prison, he resisted. He'd agreed not to fight. Besides, he _did_ feel its power tightening over his, choking his grace off and draining his strength.

"It'll be alright, Dean," the angel assured his friend, meeting his eyes. "Everything's going to be-"

"Time to go," Rán interrupted impatiently before stepping off the edge of the floor, dragging Castiel behind her. He heard Dean shouting for him one last time, but then his world disappeared into water and silence.

He had no idea where she might be taking him. Castiel had no soul for her net to reap but that didn't mean the goddess couldn't still leave him trapped in her underworld. The thought sent a ripple of fear through the angel's heart; he had no wings, he wouldn't be able to get home.

Fortunately, they didn't go far. It was difficult to see through the dark, crushing water, but Castiel's keen eyes could make out the ocean floor. They were surely still on the continental shelf, but at this distance from shore, the angel was certain they were almost to the break that would lead to the deep ocean. And there… they seemed to be heading for a large shape jutting out in the darkness. As they approached, the angel realized that it was an old wooden ship, sunken and lost long ago. The wood had been eaten away in many places, leaving the vessel barren and hollow.

The mast was listing at an odd angle, broken about halfway down, but the rigging seemed to have fared better in the salty water than the wood. The ropes were mostly intact. In spite of his promise, Castiel couldn't help but start to press against the net keeping him trapped, in the hopes of finding an escape. He could keep his vessel running without oxygen indefinitely if necessary, but the angel didn't like it down here in the almost total darkness.

Castiel glared at Rán as she pulled the net in towards the mast and shoved him against it. The angle it leaned at had him semi-reclined, not unlike the chair in Naomi's office that Metatron had bound him to before carving his grace out. This thought did nothing to help Castiel calm down.

Rán ignored his struggles, giving him a scornful look as she twirled one finger. The ropes from the rigging unwound themselves and flew through the water towards them, wrapping around Castiel's waist and the mast. A violent gesture from the goddess, and the bonds tightened down with a snap. The angel's arms were pinned to his sides, trapped by both the net and the ropes. Great… it would take him forever to loosen them enough to get free.

Castiel couldn't move, watching with fury and a flicker of fear as Rán raised the blade she'd brought with them. Though he was already lashed down too tightly, she smiled with obvious relish and plunged the blade through the water to pierce the angel's shoulder, running him all the way through so that his own weapon was pinning him to the mast. Castiel screamed in agony. Bubbles burst from his mouth as the ocean was lit with sparking light from his punctured grace.

Rán smiled wider at his pain and viciously jerked on the rope tying him to the mast to check its strength. It held, making Castiel bite back another groan. Between the rope, the net that locked down his power, and the blade driven into him like a spike, there was no way he would be escaping on his own. And even if Rán honored the deal and told the Winchesters what she had done with him, how were they going to swim this deep to free him?

Castiel leveled another ferocious glare at the goddess, but she only smiled and wiggled her fingers in a mocking wave. Blood mixed with glowing grace leaked out of the wound in his shoulder, staining the water; suddenly, the angel hoped he wouldn't have sharks to fight off as well, not in this state.

And worse, he realized with a sinking heart, the boys wouldn't have the angel blade, if it did come to a fight. As their self-appointed guardian, the idea of leaving them defenseless to take on a goddess without his help was more than he could take.

For now, Castiel morosely thought as Rán disappeared, it looked like they were on their own.

* * *

 

The pitch black pressed around Dean like a physical force, dark enough that even the staunch hunter felt his pulse quicken with discomfort. He couldn't stop shivering, so cold from being dunked into the water that it was making his teeth chatter and his head hurt. Dean huddled in a ball in the ankle deep water. His fear wasn't just for himself… what would she do to Cas?

Rán had promised she would give the angel back to them—well, "promise" was a strong word. She had said she would, but what if she didn't? What if she got what she wanted and then disappeared without a trace? Dean didn't _think_ the goddess could actually kill Cas… except she had the angel blade now. And damn it, why had Cas given it up instead of finishing her, regardless of the cost to Dean?!

Plus there was that net. Dean had never felt anything like it, as though it wasn't just covering his body but actually clinging to something inside him. It had horrified him in a way he hadn't felt since his soul was on the line for Hell. Would it be strong enough to hold Cas, keep him from escaping? Sam had said Gabriel-aka-Loki had made it, so he was betting it would.

What was taking so long?

Dean tried not to let his imagination run away with him, but at this point in his life it was hard not to expect the worst.

Light flooded the cavern again, the same cyan and aqua glow illuminating the rock face and casting shadows over the crevices. Dean jerked up, wincing as his water-logged flannel hit his skin again with an icy touch. Rán appeared at the front of the underwater cavern, rising out of the ocean and striding onto the rocky floor with a pleased smirk.

Dean swallowed; she had left with angel, net, and blade. She'd returned with none.

"What did you do?" he demanded before she could speak. The hunter fought his way onto his feet, arms crossed over his chest in an attempt to cling to some body heat. "Where's Cas? What'd you do to him?"

The goddess shot him a sneer and tossed her dark head. "Worry more about yourself, if your brother doesn't return what's mine."

"If you've hurt him, I swear to _god_ -"

"Relax," she snapped. "He's alive. I'll even throw you a line, he's still on Earth. Close by, but not close enough for you to reach him on your own. So if you and your brother even _think_ about double-crossing me, good luck ever getting your angel back, because I promise you, he's not getting out of _that_ without help."

Rán snickered as though enjoying a private joke, sending another chill shuddering through the hunter.

"Look," he urged, holding his hands up towards the goddess. "You don't have to do this. If getting your gold or whatever back is what it'll take for you to leave everyone alone and go back home, then that's all we want, too. We'll help you. Just… please don't hurt Cas."

She shrugged, looking unmoved. "Little late for that."

Dean's blood ran cold again. His eyes shifted to her empty hands, and the hunter whispered hoarsely, "Where's the blade?"

"Sticking out of him." Rán chuckled, eyes alight with a maddened gleam as she stared at the hunter intently. Though he knew she was challenging him to do anything about it, and though he knew that could only end badly for him, Dean didn't stop to think.

"You bitch!" he shouted, lunging forward with fury and grief. With nothing but bare fists, he attacked the goddess head-on. Dean felt flesh under his knuckles as he scored a direct shot to her face.

Rán shrieked, stepping back, but the hunter pressed forward after her. Nearly mindless, he swung again. This time, the goddess was ready for him. Dean felt her catch his arm, nearly jerking it out of its socket as she flung him down to the watery floor with a splash. The blow knocked the wind out of him, and the hunter could only stare up at the glowing rock ceiling, struggling to inhale. A foot slammed into his stomach, further driving the air from his body.

"I said he's alive!" she screamed, the echoes of her voice like crashing waves. She stomped down on his stomach again; this time, Dean doubled up, his arms wrapping his middle. "But I can fix that any time I please! Calm down, _right now_ , or I'll go back and kill him myself, and then you, and then the dreamboat and the girl!"

Yup, he was done. Cas was still alive… hurt, if she'd used the blade on him, but alive. Dean couldn't move as he felt her lean down and paw at his belt.

"Hey… come on…" he wheezed as she unbuckled it and jerked the leather strap free. "I'm not… that easy."

"You're more trouble than you're worth, is what you are," she retorted.

Dean didn't fight her as the goddess grabbed his wrists and crossed them in front of him, wrapping the belt around them and cinching it tight. Grabbing his bound hands, Rán hauled the hunter upright and stepped in close.

"Behave yourself," she snarled. "Time to go."

Traveling with Rán made Dean actually miss flying with Cas, which now didn't seem nearly as bad in comparison. When they reappeared in the flooded research station, the hunter leaned over in her grip and dry-heaved for a moment, nauseated and seasick.

"Ugh, I hate you," he groaned.

"Shut up," she snapped back, jerking him back upright by the nape of his collar. The goddess looked around and her grip on Dean tightened. "Where are they? They're late. I told them an hour, _one_ hour! Where are they?!"

She was getting worked up again. Dean gulped, not liking his odds if she flew off the handle. Sheesh, and he'd thought the archangels were volatile. "They'll be here," he assured her quickly, wishing he had Sam's natural soothing nature. "I know my brother. Trust me, he wouldn't leave me and Cas. They'll show."

"You'd better pray you're right."

Dean sighed, wishing they could be doing all this in a nice, warm, brightly lit location instead. When he'd asked for a vacation to California, this was not what he'd had in mind.

By Dean's internal count, it was nearly ten minutes later before they heard the groaning of the front door and the low echo of footsteps. Dean felt his stomach unclench a bit. The sooner they got Cas and got out of there, the better. The hunter held his breath as the footsteps drew closer, and then Sam and Aileen appeared in the doorway with a cautious glance around.

"Well?" Rán demanded, shoving Dean forward a step as though to draw attention to the leverage she still held.

The hunter splashed in the water as he looked up to meet his brother's eyes. He saw Sam register Rán's hand on Dean, and the conspicuous lack of angel. Sam's shoulders drooped.

"Rán," Sam said, sounding a little too desperate for Dean's comfort. "Listen… we'll get it, alright?"

"NOW!" the goddess bellowed, so sudden and ferocious that Aileen and Sam both jumped. "The deal was for one hour, so give it back! Do you really think I won't kill your brother and your angel?!"

"Please," Aileen spoke up, spreading her hands in pacification. "We know _where_ it is, we just weren't able to bring it with us. But we can tell you-"

"We had a deal!" Rán's grip on Dean's neck tightened so that the hunter couldn't help but grimace, bringing his bound hands up to try and grab her arm. She gave him a shake, then snarled, "I told you I would give this one back if you returned the gold. You failed. You get _neither_ of them!"

"Wait. _Wait,_ just listen!" Sam yelled with panic in his eyes. "His name is James Wessen, and he lives in one of the houses farther up the bay. He made a deal for the gold and he's got it all locked up in his vault-"

Rán shrieked with fury, making Dean's heart drop. She wasn't going to listen to reason… she wasn't going to let him go and she wasn't going to bring Cas back. Holding as still as possible, the hunter shouted over her,

"You can get it yourself now! You know where to look-"

"Is it under water, this vault?" she screamed. The water covering the floor was starting to froth, making Sam and Aileen look down with unease and take a step back. "Is there _any_ water in it?! NO! I can't get in if it's not in the water! _You_ will get it for me, and you will do it _now_!"

"I can't!" Sam protested, arms wide and expression pleading. "Rán, we're just two humans. We already tried to talk to him and it didn't work. The whole house is locked down now… and even if we _could_ get in, do you know how long it would take to move that much gold out of the vault and down to the beach where you could get it? Maybe if we had Dean and Cas to help-"

"No!"

"Please, just give us some more time," Aileen urged.

Sam nodded frantically, while Dean held his breath. The younger hunter took a step forward, one hand extended. "Maybe- maybe we can call a guy who can get in and out easier," he suggested, though it sounded like he was grasping at straws. "But it's gonna take time… maybe a lot more time."

Instead of shouting some more, Rán went quiet, which Dean considered much more terrifying. He felt her shaking with barely contained rage and knew that she was furious. The hunter gulped.

"Fine." Rán inhaled deeply, then seethed. "You have more time. You have exactly as much time as Dean."

Sam's eyes flicked to his brother, his expression nervous. "What… what do you mean?"

Dean felt the floor disappear out from under him as they moved again. The water hit before he was ready for it, and the grip on his nape let go. The hunter instinctively thrust his bound hands out through the water, only to run into something solid. It took a moment to register that he was still in the research station, but now his view was distorted by the tall, glass cylinder he was trapped in. A water tank.

A _full_ water tank.

Panic threatened to take over as Dean fought to kick himself to the surface, only to realize that there _was_ no surface. There was nothing between the water and the lid, and Dean was going to drown.


	10. Chapter 10

Aileen's hand flew to her mouth in horror as Dean reappeared in the nearby water tank that must have been used to hold fish for study, back when the research station was operational. It was tall and narrow, extending from the floor to the low ceiling, with no visible opening from there. She and Sam dashed forward as Rán stood to the side with arms crossed, looking smug.

"Dean!" Sam bellowed. He slammed a fist against the glass, but it was too thick by far. The hunter hit it again, then again. Still, it held.

The water elemental turned this way and that, looking for something sturdier to hit the tank with, even knowing that it would do no good. She whirled back to look at Dean, seeing the fear in his eyes as he weakly kicked at the glass, uncoordinated without the use of his hands.

"Rán, let him out!" Sam shouted, turning on the goddess and drawing his gun. "He'll drown!"

"Then you should stop wasting time," she snapped back. The gun didn't remotely faze her; they all knew it wouldn't even slow her down, much less kill her. And if they _did_ kill her, Dean was trapped.

"I can't get it all in time! Stop it, _please_! I can't even get back to the house before he drowns!"

The goddess shrugged, looking almost bored. "Well, that's certainly too bad for your brother."

She really wasn't going to let him out, Aileen realized with a surge of terror for the hunter. And Sam was right, they didn't have nearly enough time. Unless…

Aileen threw her hands out to press against the tank, concentrating with all her might. An inch and a half of clearance made up a small air pocket at the top, but maybe that would be enough. "Dean, swim up!" she called through the glass when she realized the hunter was starting to panic too much to realize what she was trying to do. "Get as close to the top as you can!"

"You can't get him out," Rán remarked from behind them.

Aileen ignored this, knowing that it was true. But she could at least keep him alive, as long as Dean had the strength to keep swimming. Focusing, the elemental pushed against the water in the center of the tank, sending it to fill the outer edges around the top. It only hollowed out an extra inch or so, but it made the air pocket deep enough that Dean could stick his nose and mouth above the surface of the water and gasp for breath.

"Interesting," the goddess murmured. "She's buying you a bit of time, dreamboat… I'd stop wasting it if I were you."

"Sam, go!" Aileen yelled over her shoulder. "I'll keep him breathing! Find a way to get the gold, hurry!"

For a moment, Sam didn't answer, but he surely had to realize that this was the only way. After a minute, Aileen heard a low oath, then Sam was beside her again, banging on the tank.

"Dean! Hold on, you got it? I'll be back as fast as I can, _hold on_!"

"G-go, Sammy," Dean gasped out, barely audible from behind the thick glass. He was still kicking hard, trying to wedge his feet between the walls of the narrow tank to prop himself up since his hands were bound, but the hunter's boots kept slipping on the slick surface. As tall as he was, the tank was taller, forcing him to keep moving in order to keep himself afloat in the miniscule pocket of air.

Aileen knew well that treading water for too long would be exhausting enough, but doing it without his arms would be even worse. As Sam turned and sloshed from the room, the elemental continued to focus all her power on keeping that one air pocket intact.

Inside the tank, Dean was wrestling with the belt that bound his hands, with no success. She heard him take a deep breath.

"Aileen…"

She shook her head stubbornly, familiar enough with these guys' patterns now to know what the hunter was likely trying to tell her. No way was she just going to abandon him though. It wasn't like she'd never been in danger herself. "I've got you, Dean," Aileen said. "Just hang in there."

For a few tense, silent minutes, he seemed to be holding strong, but soon Aileen could tell Dean was starting to flag. Her heart tightened with fear, weariness tugging at her own stores of strength. She couldn't let him go.

"Dean, keep kicking!" she pleaded, pressing harder against the glass.

"T-trying… it's n-not so easy when y-you can't f-feel your legs."

Aileen cursed, realizing the problem with a flash of anger toward herself for not having considered it before. She'd been in the Pacific plenty of times, but usually with a wetsuit, and the times without had generally been unintentional. Dean must have been freezing by this point. If he didn't warm up soon, he would end up unconscious while his brain tried to conserve what energy it could.

Then he would stop swimming. Then he would drown.

"Okay, hold on!"

Her power worked by her control over each molecule of water. All she need do was speed those molecules up, get them moving and energized, and it should start to warm the water. Unfortunately, there was so much water in the tank that Aileen knew even before she started that she wasn't strong enough to keep it up for long.

Still, she gritted her teeth and concentrated hard. Soon, the glass began to fog where her hands pressed against it.

"Very interesting," Rán spoke up, voice mild in contrast to the near hysterics they'd seen earlier.

Aileen swallowed as she felt the goddess approaching, leaning over the elemental with a thoughtful eye. She couldn't afford to be distracted, and at least it didn't seem like Rán was about to attack, but it was nerve-wracking to have even her friends and family _watch_ her use her abilities. To have the goddess as an audience was a thousand times worse.

"Stay away f-from her!" Dean snapped inside the tank, angling his head a bit so that he could see what was happening and still keep his face in the air pocket.

Rán payed no attention, but sauntered to Aileen's other side to peer down at her closer. "I know what you are, you know."

"Good for you," Aileen gritted out, not looking up. She was getting tired, and Dean's legs were starting to move slower. She focused harder on raising the water temperature, even though it meant sacrificing a few precious millimeters of air space.

"Your power is… ahh, it's beautiful," the goddess breathed. "Why are you wasting your time protecting these _humans_?"

"If you'd let him out, I wouldn't have to," Aileen tried, though she doubted it would do any good. It didn't.

"Now, _you_ , I would hate to kill. Ability like yours, you'd be more than welcome in my house. These humans aren't worthy, child. With your kind of power, I'm sure we could work out some kind of arrangement. You could safely walk away from here. Leave the humans to me, and you'd be free to go."

Aileen's gaze rose to meet Dean's, watched as his exhausted form struggled to stay afloat. Her eyes hardened and she poured more strength into the tank, trying to buoy him up and maintain the air pocket at the same time.

"Pass," she growled. "And Dean, don't you dare stop fighting now. I've got you, hear me? Hang on for Sam and Castiel."

Rán sighed. "Such a waste," she said. "And we both know he can't hold on forever. And neither can you."

"Not forever," Aileen agreed as she forced herself on. "Just long enough."

* * *

Sam raced for Wessen's house with nothing on his mind but the fact that he was going to get that gold away from the man one way or another. With Dean's life on the line, there was nothing the younger hunter wouldn't do.

Which was just always the way, no matter how many times the brothers told each other that they needed to stop that mentality.

This time was different, Sam's mind shouted to himself as he clenched the Impala's steering wheel in a crushing grip. Wessen had made a deal with a demon; his soul was already forfeit. It wasn't like he was an innocent bystander that Sam should be trying to protect. Besides, he'd tried to kill Sam and Aileen. So whatever happened to the guy, it was no longer the hunter's problem.

Praying that Aileen could keep Dean afloat, Sam came to a careening, uncontrolled stop outside the tall hedgerows bordering the small mansion. He'd hardly turned the car off before he was jumping out the door and sticking his head around the barrier to check the driveway.

"Shit."

The security team was still there. Wessen probably had the vault sealed down like Fort Knox by now. Not that the Winchesters weren't capable of getting into such places, but it would take time that Dean didn't have. This was a fool's errand; even if he got into the house and then into the vault, Sam would only be able to bring back a duffel bag full of the treasure at most. What were the odds of getting in and out without being shot, not once, but a dozen times?

The hunter knew what he had to do. He'd known since Rán had demanded immediate results that there was only one feasible option, and Sam couldn't put it off any longer. Even though it rankled, even though it was probably going to cost them all dearly, the younger Winchester jerked his phone out and mashed a button while bile rose in his throat at what he would have to do.

"What _now_ , Moose?" Crowley demanded in lieu of "hello" as soon as the line connected. "I know it might not occur to anyone with a head as big as yours, but you're not the only one in this bloody universe with things to do."

"Crowley, shut up," Sam snapped, in no mood for the demon's attitude and overall lack of helpfulness. "We've got a problem."

"And by 'we' I assume you mean you Winchesters. Shove off, mate, I've got all of sodding _Hell_ to take care of. You think you've got troubles?" Crowley snorted. "I'm hanging up now."

Sam moved back towards the Impala, out of sight of the house, and slammed a hand against the metal frame of the car. "Damn it, listen to me, Crowley! That goddess, Rán? I told you, she's got Dean _and_ Cas."

"My heart bleeds. I get why you're upset, I really do," Crowley assured him, but with the same flat tone that promised a complete unwillingness to cooperate. "You know what I _don't_ get? How any of this is my problem. Oh, that's because it's _not_. Goodbye, Moose."

The line went dead and Sam slammed a fist down onto the car's roof again. Dean was going to be furious about the dent it left. As long as he was still alive to be angry, though, Sam didn't even care. Undeterred, the hunter redialed Crowley and waited with an impatient drumming of his fingers.

" _What_ , damn it?"

"I don't think you understand. If I don't get that gold back for her… she's going to kill Cas and Dean. Kill them, Crowley."

"I'd worked out as much, thanks," the demon growled back, dripping in sarcasm and unconcern. "So. Things look rather dire. And I'd say I'm the only option you've got, or you wouldn't be calling me. Don't get me wrong, Moose, taking on the Darkness and Lucifer together was really a bundle of laughs, but we're not partners anymore."

Sam took a deep breath in an attempt to keep his cool. Sometimes it was amusing when Crowley only considered them to be on the same team when _he_ needed something done. Other times, like now, Sam just wanted to wring the demon's neck.

"Trust me," he snapped. "You're the last one in the world I want to be talking to right now. But this was _your_ demon-"

"-Who won't be making any more deals in the near… ever."

"-and _you_ need to clean up the mess."

There was a quick pause, and then Sam could almost hear the demon's smile as he said,

"Well. Sounds like you need a favor, doesn't it? So… what shall we trade for?"

Sam snorted with laughter. "Try your _life_."

"You're not holding that card, Moose."

"Oh, I'm not?" Sam shot back. His hand clenched into a fist as he glared at nothing. "Get up here and move this gold down to the water… or I'm going right back there to tell Rán that you stole it as a way of declaring war on the Pantheon, now that the Darkness is gone. And trust me, she's insane. She'll believe it. You really want that bullseye on your back? You think Hell will protect you from that, and _me_?"

This time, the pause was significantly longer, and then Crowley growled, "We should talk."

Sam blinked. "We _are_ talking-"

"In person, you twat," Crowley snapped, this time from directly in front of the human.

Sam jumped in shock, stumbling back as he whipped his gun out from sheer reflex. The demon pointedly turned his phone off and gave Sam an unimpressed look.

"Don't waste your bullets," he suggested. "Now listen up, because I'm only going to make this offer once. I seriously doubt you ran all the way back to save your beloved big brother and feathery wingman and somehow forgot to drop Wessen's name to the goddess. Ergo… pointing out culprits hasn't gotten you very far. Even if she wanted to come after me, Hell's not known for its vast oceans. She can't touch me there."

"Crowley-"

The demon held up a hand, closing his eyes as though with great patience. "However. It would be an inconvenience to get on the Pantheon's bad side. Even still… you'll have to sweeten the pot a bit, I'm afraid."

Sam lowered the gun, casting a suspicious eye at the demon. "With what? My soul?"

"Hardly. I honestly don't even want you two in Hell at this point. Not when you're so useful up here."

The hunter took a step forward and raised the gun in anger. It wouldn't kill Crowley, but at least he could relieve some frustration. Sam never got the chance to shoot, though; the demon twisted his hand in the air and the pistol went flying from Sam's grip.

"For someone so worried about Dean and Cas," Crowley observed, "you're being remarkably thick. It's a straight-up favor. You _need_ me to do this for you. The deal is, someday when _I_ need a favor, you'll provide. Simple as that."

Sam's refusal was on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated. The problem was, Crowley was right. The King of Hell had had much worse than just the Pantheon gunning for him before… Sam needed Crowley far more than Crowley needed him. With no leg to stand on, the "no way" died on the hunter's lips. His jaw clenched.

"You get _all_ the gold out of that vault, all of it in one shot, and it goes directly to the beach outside the old research station," he growled.

Crowley shrugged. "Done." He grabbed Sam's shoulder before the hunter could pull away.

The horrible feeling of transit via demon turned Sam's stomach, but when the cloud dispersed, he was standing on the beach with Crowley. The research station stood in tall silhouette to the left. At their feet, piles and mounds of gold glinted faintly in what little moonlight escaped through the stormy clouds. Sam stumbled back a step, eyeing the treasure trove in awe and disbelief.

No wonder Rán had been so furious. And, looking at the sheer quantity of the coins and baubles, Sam shuddered to think how long it would have taken to remove it all one bagful at a time.

Crowley watched him with indifferent eyes, unaffected by the lure of the treasure. "Satisfied?" the demon asked with a bit of impatience.

"Let the human out of the deal," Sam retorted, though he could hardly bring himself to care much about James Wessen's fate. Being such a miserable person was punishment enough, and the hunter couldn't deny a certain pleasure at the idea of Wessen living for years upon years in a life he clearly hated. "He doesn't get to keep his end, so Hell doesn't either, right?"

Crowley snapped his fingers. "Done," he said. "Messing with gods isn't how we do things. Besides, I expect I'll be seeing him in the end anyway, sooner or later. Pleasure doing business with you, Moose, and the next time I need _your_ assistance, remember that you owe me a favor. Now leave me alone. I have a kingdom I'm trying to rebuild."

He was gone before Sam could retort, which was just as well. The King of Hell was already far from Sam's mind as he turned for the research station and raced for the door, heart pounding with the desperate hope that he'd made it back in time.

He flung the front door open, footsteps echoing down the empty hall as the hunter shot straight towards the open room at the end. The first thing Sam saw as he burst into the wide space was the tank… Aileen was still pressing her hands against the curved glass, and there, to his exhausted relief, was Dean. Still kicking, still just barely above the surface, but alive. The goddess was standing beside them, arms crossed and looking impatient, but her gaze shot to Sam as he pushed his way inside.

"Rán!" Sam shouted, splashing through the water. "Your gold-"

"My gold!" she gasped. The goddess's eyes grew wide with a hungry light as she evaporated through the water, no doubt having felt the ocean surf brushing against her coveted treasure.

For a fraction of a second, Sam nearly panicked, thinking she had simply left Dean there. Before he could even say a word in protest, though, the hunter heard a loud splash as his brother collapsed to the floor outside of the tank. Dean rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling as his chest heaved up and down with relief. He gasped, coughing and gagging intermittently, while Sam raced towards him and threw himself down beside his brother.

"Dean!" he shouted as he fumbled to undo the belt binding the hunter's hands. "Dean… hey. Hey, come on. You're okay, you're alright. Come on, man…"

"Aileen," Dean choked out, pulling his dripping wet head out of the water but then collapsing back with a splash. He raised a weak hand to brush Sam off, and sputtered again, "Aileen…"

"Aileen?" Sam called, twisting in place and then lunging through the water with dismay as he realized that she had also collapsed, resting her cheek against the thick glass. Her eyes were closed, but they blinked open when Sam gave her a careful shake.

"Yup," she murmured. "Yup, we're good. You know… mostly."

Sam could see that she was just as exhausted as Dean was, realizing now just how hard she had fought to keep his brother alive. She was shaking ever so slightly from the exertion of holding the water back. Sam pulled her into a fierce, almost hysterical hug of relief.

"You saved him," he whispered. "Thank you."

"Oh… you know… just your friendly neighborhood elemental."

Sam managed a weak chuckle, then released her to turn back to his brother. He cleared his throat, pulling himself together.

"So," he said. "We need to get Cas, quick. Did Rán tell you where we can find him?"

Dean's chest was still heaving up and down, but the question seemed like a catalyst to pull him up off the floor. When Sam saw the fear in his brother's eyes, his heart sank like a stone.

"No."


	11. Chapter 11

No.

Sam ran his hands through his hair, turning a slow circle in the flooded room then taking a deep breath to calm himself down. Rán had just _left,_ without a word about what she'd done to Cas or where she'd taken him.

"Okay," he said, exhaling when his voice came out shaky. "Okay. We can figure this out. We'll find him."

His brother pushed himself the rest of the way to his feet, shaking all over from the cold. His teeth were chattering; more alarming, Sam could see Dean's lips turning blue even in the dim lighting. The younger hunter cursed, starting to shrug out of his own jacket, but Aileen was already reaching out toward Dean.

With rapt fascination despite the severity of the situation, Sam watched as the water elemental frowned in concentration. A light steam began to rise off of Dean as the moisture evaporated from his skin and clothes. Sam could almost hear the sizzle. He felt a rush of relief as color returned to his brother's cheeks, warming up as he dried.

Not until Aileen teetered slightly did Sam realize that the elemental had probably over-extended herself enough as it was, and this was only draining her further. He grabbed her before she could lose balance and gently guided her back.

"Whoa," he said. "Aileen, you've done plenty. Easy."

"Yeah, thanks," Dean agreed, but Sam heard the distraction in his brother's voice. Still, Dean clasped Aileen's arm briefly in gratitude as she regained her footing and gave them a tired smile in return.

She would be alright, but now Cas was their primary concern.

"What happened?" Sam asked, turning back to Dean as the older hunter stumbled towards the door. "When Cas called, he was still with you. Did she… did she take him right away? Do you think she could have gone far?"

"He was with me until the last minute," Dean growled. "Sammy… she put him in the net. I don't think he can get out of it, man. I'm telling you, that thing is definitely tough enough to hold him. And…"

Sam's heart clenched as they hurried through the station. "And what?"

"And she used the blade on him."

 _No…_ The younger hunter lashed out, grabbing Dean's sleeve to pull him to a halt. Sam's throat closed up, eyes widening as he found himself unable to even ask the obvious question. It couldn't be… not after everything…

Aileen paused as well, looking from one Winchester to the other. "Does… does that mean…?"

"It's one of the only things that can kill an angel," Dean confirmed, looking away. There was murder in his eyes, but tinged with worry. "But she says he's still alive and still on Earth. We gotta hurry, though. I don't know where she took him. If anything happens to him-" He broke off, took a deep breath, then turned back to his brother. "Sammy, I promised him we would come back for him."

Right. Sam swallowed, nodding slowly. This wasn't over yet. They couldn't afford to waste time wringing their hands and worrying. Cas was in trouble, which meant they had to act now. Sam's eyes hardened.

"And we're going to."

Together, the three started moving again, picking up the pace now as they rushed from the building and down onto the beach.

When they got there, the sandy stretch was completely abandoned. There was no sign of either the gold or the goddess, or anything at all but the salty waves that crashed in and then retreated in a rush of foam. Sam looked up and down the beach, despair tugging at his heart.

How could they have been so stupid as to trust a pagan goddess? When had that ever worked out in their favor? She was gone, not even a hint that she had ever been there at all. Even though they'd held up their end, Rán had obviously gone back on the deal. Sam wondered if she'd ever actually intended to give Cas back at all, or if it had always been her plan to let the angel die, one less player in the arena for her concern.

Killing Cas would mean nothing to Rán, but Sam knew Dean was feeling the same as him: if anything happened to Cas, they would lose a brother, not just an angel.

Dean was gazing over the water with uncertainty and doubt in the slump of his shoulders and the bite of his lip.

"She said she didn't take him far," the hunter said, as Aileen went to squat at the ocean's edge. "And she wasn't gone long. He might be close…"

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to even _look_ for him?" Sam demanded. "There's _hundreds_ of miles to cover, and that's assuming she didn't drag him out to the deep ocean! We don't have any diving equipment. We don't even have a boat!"

"We don't need any," Aileen spoke up. She straightened back up and turned to the brothers with a fierce expression of determination. "We have me."

* * *

Aileen felt Sam and Dean's eyes on her as she stepped into the surf and closed her eyes. The water was freezing around her ankles as the waves gently lapped over her feet, but she'd been standing in cold water for so long tonight that she couldn't feel her toes or sodden socks anyway. The minor discomfort was one she could ignore until everyone—including Castiel—was out of danger.

Though Aileen's energy and power was all but drained at the moment, there were other ways of using her status as an elemental. She didn't have the strength to look far, but she had a hunch that help wasn't as far away as Sam and Dean thought. Casting her senses through the waves, Aileen tried to get in touch with any sea life that might be near at hand.

Sure enough, she felt the almost immediate response of the sea otters who had led them to the station in the first place.

Their initial reaction to her contact, she noted with vague amusement, was an impatient reprimand that she had taken so long to fill them in on what was going on with the not-human whose storm had endangered their pups. Aileen had to send out a command to calm down before she could even begin to answer the surge of curiosity directed at her.

The otters fell silent, bound to obey a water elemental. As thoroughly as she could, Aileen communicated what had taken place. It was difficult without the use of actual words, but she tried to give them a sense of the very real danger that Rán posed. Finally, Aileen brought up a mental image of Castiel in his trench coat, adding feelings of friendship and concern so that the otters would understand he was an ally in trouble.

One of the sea otters replied with a wave of questioning. There was no hint of recognition though, which was disappointing. Aileen repeated the image, but this time envisioned the angel caught in the net—a danger that every sea animal understood all too well. She heard a nervous, angry chitter from one of the furry creatures.

After a bit of struggle, Aileen managed to get across that the not-woman had stolen Castiel like a great white shark would steal an otter—though hopefully she hadn't eaten him. Instead, she had stashed him somewhere close by under the water, and he needed to be rescued. Aileen showed them a brief image of Sam and Dean and the worry they felt like the papa otters had worried about their young in the storm.

There was a bristle of anger on Castiel's behalf from the group of otters, then a rallying determination to find and save the not-man.

This was immediately followed by another wave of feeling flooding across their connection: a brash hope that they ran into the not-woman, and the angry agreement that they would give her a piece of their minds.

Just typical, Aileen thought with wry exasperation. That was just like a group of otters, too much sass for their own good. If they went up against a sea goddess, they would be eaten alive. Even aside from the fact that she needed them focused, Aileen wasn't about to risk the animals under her care like that. Sternly, she sent a direct command not to engage the goddess if they did happen to see her, to stay away and stay safe. Their jobs were _only_ to locate and rescue Castiel, not to get themselves killed in a battle with Rán.

This, as expected, did not sit well with the otters and their fighting spirits. She felt their discontent, but it was an order they had to honor. With one last feeling of promise that they would free Castiel, the otters took off through the waves. Soon, they were lost to Aileen's senses. Opening her eyes, Aileen turned back to the Winchesters, who were watching her with dumbfounded expressions.

"I, uh… I found the otters," she explained, feeling a little shy under their piercing gazes. "They're looking for Castiel. Trust me, if there's _any_ animal you want on your side, it's sea otters."

"That's… handy," Sam offered, expression indicating he wasn't quite sure what to make of this. Beside him, though, Dean was already shaking his head.

"Sea otters?" he demanded. "Cas might be _dying_ and we're gonna leave his fate in the hands of… sea otters?"

"They'll do everything in their power," Aileen vouched, knowing the animals' penchant for tenacity and near reckless commitment to a cause.

"Okay, great," Dean snapped. "But _we_ need to be out there, too."

Sam spread his arms, looking all around them with a pointed air. Aileen looked around, too, getting the hunter's drift. They were surrounded by a fat lot of _nothing_. She couldn't even see the car, and wondered where Sam had left it.

"I'm all for that, too, Dean," Sam said, voice rising. "But what exactly are we supposed to do-"

"Anything it takes!" Dean shouted, cutting him off. Silence fell as the older Winchester glared between Sam and Aileen. He shook his head then growled, "Cas is only in this position because of _me_. He was fighting her, and it was working. That angel blade was definitely hurting her! He only stopped because Rán had _me_ for leverage, so anything that happens to him now is on me."

"How can that _possibly_ be on you?" Sam argued, a sentiment that Aileen whole-heartedly agreed with. If Castiel was the Winchester's guardian, then of course he'd chosen to protect Dean. But wasn't that the angel's choice, not Dean's?

"Sammy…" Dean went on now, angry tenor shifting to quiet desperation. "I promised him. I promised we would come back for him no matter what. We've always counted on him, but this time he's counting on _us._ And I can't just sit here."

No one had anything to say to that, because really, what could even be said? Aileen looked between the two, biting her lip in thought. Their loyalty to the angel, and his to them, touched her soul. She wanted to do more to help, but didn't have the heart to point out that there just _wasn't_ any more they could do. As Sam had said, they didn't have boats, or diving gear. They would need a sonar in order to narrow down the search. This sort of thing was Aileen's specialty, but it took _time._

"I… I could call my dad," she spoke up, though her troubled eyes looked over the ocean with uncertainty. "He'd have the equipment we need, but we're based in Washington state. It would take a while for him to get here."

"Cas might not have that kind of time," Sam agreed, closing his eyes.

"But he's an angel," Aileen pointed out. "I mean, I'm assuming he doesn't _really_ have to… you know… breathe."

"It's not the underwater thing," growled Dean. The hunter ran his hands through his hair, clasping the back of his head as he took a deep breath. "It's his blade. Rán stabbed him with it, and I just… I don't know if he's healing, and with that damn net…"

Aileen nodded her understanding. "But… Rán will want her net back, right? So she has to go to him eventually. Maybe once she takes the net back-"

"Oh, I'll be taking it back."

All three of them whipped around, the cold voice of the goddess sending a chill slithering down Aileen's spine. The clouds overhead were starting to disperse, allowing the full moon to illuminate the scene. Rán stood at the shoreline, increasingly choppy waves rolling in at her feet. Her eyes glowed with murderous intent, so insane that Aileen took a step back.

Dean, on the other hand, moved closer with an equally murderous glare as he swept an arm in front of Aileen to maneuver her behind him. "Rán," he snapped. "You got your gold back, so unless you're here to give us Cas-"

"I put my gold back where it belongs. Now I want the human," she cut him off. The goddess clenched her fists and a wave crashed higher, tossing its seafoam around them. "The one who made the deal. The one who stole from me. This… James Wessen."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, also taking a step forward. He raised a hand as though Rán could possibly be pacified. "That was never part of-"

"You know where he is," Rán hissed. "You will bring him to me, and I will kill him. And then I will flood this city and destroy everything in it, and you will stay out of my way. And _then,_ and only then, I'll give you your precious angel."

"That wasn't the deal," Sam yells. "The deal was for the gold. We held up our end, now bring Cas back!"

"Bring me the human!" The goddess's voice was rising into the shriek of a raging squall, only heightening the chill in the air. "Now, now, _now_! Do it, or the angel dies!"

The boys fell silent, while a cold hand clamped over Aileen's heart. The choice was horrific, but she could see it in the rigidness of their stances that they were already thinking along the same lines: they couldn't sacrifice the entire city. All of Santa Cruz… all those people. There had to be over 60,000 humans living in the city.

No matter how much they couldn't bear to lose Castiel… even Aileen knew that the angel would never want them to let Rán wipe out an entire city just on the off-chance that it would save him. Desperately, Aileen cast out for the otters with her mind, hoping for news that they had already found and rescued the angel, that the Winchesters should go after the goddess with everything they had.

Her probing was met with silence: the sea otters were still out of range.

Aileen turned her anxious gaze to Dean, almost feeling the weight of his crushed spirit as the hunter swallowed… then shook his head.

"No," he whispered.

"Not even to save your friend?" Rán taunted him with a smirk. "You'd just let me have him, when all you have to do to guarantee his safety is step aside?"

"You said all we had to do was get your gold back," Sam growled. "You changed the deal. Why should we believe anything you say now? Why should we trust you?"

"Big words from a pair of _Winchesters_ ," the goddess snorted. "Fine. You know what? Don't stand down. I'll flood the city anyway. And once you and James Wessen and everything here is dead, I'll drag the poor little duckling right down to my underworld as a gift for my daughters." Rán's eyes lit again, madcap in her delight as Aileen clenched her fists with rage.

"Don't you _dare_!" Dean spat out, but Rán took another step back into the ocean, which had grown steadily more violent until the crashing waves nearly drowned out their voices.

Even still, her threat was clearly audible: "I like that little blade of his. And don't worry… when I'm filleting him open and he's screaming with that sweet, angelic voice, I'll make sure he knows that you could have saved him, but gave him up instead."

She laughed again. Aileen felt her blood run cold, ice in her veins as she stared at the pagan goddess. She herself had never been particularly given to violence, but in that moment, Aileen wanted Rán dead.

It seemed that Dean agreed. "I have a better idea," he snarled. "I kill you myself, and then I go save my friend."

He lunged forward, nothing to take her on but his bare hands. Rán stepped back with a cold laugh.

"Trying to kill me while I'm standing here in my natural element," she taunted. "Humans, I swear. You're a filthy, land-crawling _worm_. You can't beat me. You can't stop me. And you can't stop the ocean."

The goddess's arms flew up, hands raised high in the air. The madness in her expression frightened Aileen, but not nearly as much as the roaring sound of far too much water being displaced. Aileen's eyes widened, mouth falling open as her gaze latched onto the horizon.

A water elemental was bound by the laws of physics… a goddess had no such limitation. Way, way out at sea, a wall of water was rising, an immense tsunami that could have only one possible destination. Aileen's mind went numb: there was no stopping this.

"Dean!" Sam shouted from close by, kneeling down and grabbing two driftwood staves partially buried in the sand. He threw one to his brother. "We have to take her down! Aileen, can you hold back that water?"

Dazedly, she shook her head. Two men armed with driftwood and an exhausted water elemental, against an insane goddess with the power to move an ocean?

The best thing they could do now was pray.


	12. Chapter 12

Castiel struggled yet again to extricate his arms from their current position, only to give it up as the pain radiated from his shoulder in savage jolts. Even without the blade that spiked him to the ship's mast, the net and the rope circling his torso were doing an ample enough job keeping him pinioned. The more he fought against his bonds, the more intensely his wound began to glow as grace-tinted blood seeped into the water.

The angel had already expired all the oxygen in the vessel's lungs, now flooded with water instead from his earlier cries of pain. It caused a dull, throbbing burn in the background to accent the agony of his true form being pierced by the blade.

A little farther down and a bit to the left, and Castiel would be dead right now.

He stared sightlessly up into the pitch black of the ocean. Castiel was an angel, not prone to fearing the dark, but he was decidedly uncomfortable to be surrounded by this blackness with no idea what was lurking in the depths, unable to raise a hand to protect himself. The ocean floor was dark, but it was hardly silent. The scuttling, swishing, and soft murmurs of distant boats and creatures did nothing to lessen the discomfort the angel felt.

Had Rán kept her word? Surely it had been long enough by now for Sam to meet her at the arranged location. Had she returned Dean safely to his brother? Had she already fled the California coast, back in her underworld?

Were they looking for him right now?

Not that the boys would be able to reach him here, not quickly. If Rán wasn't coming to cut him loose, then Castiel would be here at least until morning—probably longer. Maybe… much longer.

The idea made him close his eyes in dismay and squirm once more against his bonds. He hadn't been this helpless since Lucifer had taken him over, and that thought only served to bring memories racing back of his nightmarish time as the dark archangel's vessel. Panic started to seep in, emotions that Castiel had thought he'd already worked through and put behind him.

_We'll come back for you. No matter what._

Dean's words flitted through his mind, a light in the darkness. Castiel fell still, letting that comforting thought wash over him. He just had to trust the Winchesters. And… he did.

Still, with the menacing chitters echoing through waters as his only company, the angel couldn't help but hope they hurried.

His first hint that something was wrong was the sound of displaced water, far in the distance. Castiel's eyes snapped open when the unseen creatures in the deeps began to trill and froth in panic. He tried to jerk upright by pure instinct, tearing the wound open a bit more so that the angel nearly blacked out from the pain as glowing blood billowed out into the water.

Castiel didn't have Aileen's ability to link his mind to nearby sea life, but he could understand their language, and he could hear the cry taken up by every school of fish as far as his hearing reached. All with the same word:

_Tsunami!_

The angel's heart stuttered in horror. Tsunami… it could only be Rán, and she could only have one possible target. The boys… Aileen… Castiel gritted his teeth and tried to force himself upright, hoping to use his body weight to lever the angel blade out of the wood.

It was no use, she had driven it in too deep. The desperate effort only made the angel's head whirl in a dizzying rush as the fire it caused in his shoulder almost pulled him under. Helpless fury overtook him. Rán was going to kill them, destroy the entire city, and he could do nothing to help.

Castiel was just debating whether there was any point in praying to his brethren—they had no wings to reach the scene in time, and the net was probably blocking his connection to them anyway—when he heard another aquatic voice chattering close by.

_You! You, not-man. You?_

Baffled by the interruption, the angel twisted his head to see, of all things, a sea otter streaking through the water like a furry torpedo, coming to a halt just in front of him and peering over its whiskers at the angel. The otter's nose twitched.

_You! Coat, net, sharp-thing, I find! Back soon._

And then, just as quickly, it was gone, swimming back for the surface with a stream of bubbles in its wake. Castiel frowned, not sure what to make of this and too distracted by the impending danger to Sam, Dean, and Aileen to consider it further. Perhaps if he eased his arm back and forth slowly, he could loosen the rigging ropes enough to free one hand.

No, Rán had made absolutely sure that he wasn't going anywhere. Castiel slumped back with exhaustion.

_You!_

The otter had returned, but with three more in tow. The angel blinked against the darkened water as they entered the glow emanated by his blood. The first one swam closer, maneuvering with its rudder-like tail, and put a paw on the blade. Castiel's jaw clenched as he bit back any reaction of pain when it twinged.

_We help. No move._

Castiel nodded, willing to accept the help no matter how strange a form it came in. It dawned on him that he owed an enormous debt to Aileen, who must have sent the creatures to seek him out.

 _Hurt_.

The warning was unnecessary; Castiel was already bracing himself, nodding to the two otters who wrapped their strong paws around the exposed hilt of the blade. The other two were already attacking the ropes that encircled the angel's torso, gnawing at them with sharp teeth. Castiel had no air to scream, but he bucked back against the mast as the red hot streaks laced through his body once more.

If only they could have yanked it out in one quick motion. The otters' paws were dexterous, but unsuited for grasping and pulling a bladed weapon. The agony it caused was nearly crippling as Castiel forced himself to stay awake. After about only thirty seconds, two of the otters kicked away from the angel and surged back towards the surface for air. They were already at the very limit of their diving depth and couldn't survive down here indefinitely as Castiel could.

 _We help,_ the first otter assured him yet again as it too turned away and raced off for more oxygen. Already, three more were swimming in to take the others' places.

The brief reprieve wasn't enough to soothe the pain, but Castiel gritted his teeth and willed himself to endure. He could still hear the cries of the sea's inhabitants, and knew the tsunami would be steadily making its way to shore. He had to get there first.

Little by little, the otters worked the blade free, finally releasing Castiel as he fell slack with relief. They'd traded out for air breaks several times before the ropes and the net fell away as well. Without the net's power to trap his grace, Castiel felt life returning to his pained limbs, though the wound would take more time to heal. It was time that he was not willing to spend.

Sending his gratitude to the excited sea otters as they swam off with a wave of their tails, the angel turned his attention towards the ship. Sam and Dean would never let Rán destroy the city without a fight. There was likely a battle already taking place on the surface. What they would need, Castiel thought with narrowed eyes, was a distraction.

* * *

Sam wasn't sure how long they could realistically keep fighting. The tsunami in the distance made it a moot point, of course: the fight would end when it reached the shore. Though his logical mind told him that all three of them were likely about to die, the cold, stubborn part of his Winchester spirit refused to give up, and argued that they'd faced worse odds than this. Their time was running out, but it wasn't over yet.

Rán was pulling no punches. Though Sam and Dean were attacking her with everything they had, though they outnumbered her, the sea goddess was a formidable force more than capable of swatting them aside every time they tried to get close enough to land a strike.

"Is this it, then?" she taunted them with a high laugh. "Is this the great defense of mankind? Pathetic. You humans have always been weak. I've had better fights with urchins."

"Oh, I wouldn't write us off just yet, sweetheart," Dean snapped. He smiled grimly and charged, only to be knocked off course by an ocean swell moving the wrong direction. The hunter stumbled, then tripped and fell into the water with a splash. Immediately, several more rogue waves surged in for the attack.

"Aileen, can you keep her off us?" Sam asked as he tightened his grip around the driftwood stake he carried.

"I'm trying…"

He knew she must have been at the end of her strength, but the elemental was gamely trying to help, as stubborn as a Winchester. She had one hand extended towards Dean. The water that kept battering him mercilessly in the face calmed, the waves returning to their natural path.

Taking advantage of Rán's distraction, Sam rushed the goddess. His attempt was no closer than Dean's had been. Rán side-stepped, twisting her hand around so that his world was briefly engulfed in a terrifying rush of water spinning around him like a cyclone.

When the mini-waterspout fell back into the ocean, Sam realized that his weapon had been torn from his hand. He whirled, aghast, to see Rán toying with his makeshift stake in her hands, cocking her head at him.

"Really?" she drawled. "I'm about to wipe out this entire city. But you, and a bit of a dead tree, are going to stop me?"

"Rán, you got what you want," Sam tried, holding his hands out as the four squared off. He cast a quick glance towards the deadly wall of water getting steadily closer. Seagulls filled the sky above them, squalling in obvious panic. Definitely not a good sign. "Please. Just go."

"And you," she went on, looking at a worn-out Aileen and ignoring Sam as she tossed the stake behind her into the froth. "Still fighting to save these things? How _beneath_ you! And for what? So that you can die here tonight? It's a waste. Your power isn't going to save you now. It won't save anyone."

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to try," Aileen retorted. There was a slight tremble in her voice, but a determination in her eyes. Even though she was obviously afraid, she was also clearly not going to run.

Rán only shook her head. "Like I said… a waste."

She raised a hand, the choppy waves rising even higher. They sloshed back and forth with vicious intent, poised to fling themselves at the Winchesters. Sam took a nervous step back, looking up and down the beach for another stake he might be able to use as a weapon.

"Hey!"

The voice came from up on the sand, and Sam's heart jolted to a stop. No… come _on_. He whipped around, already gesturing frantically.

"Wessen! Go back!"

Wessen ignored him, raising a gun and jabbing it in Sam's direction. "You _thief!_ You stole it, didn't you? I want it back! _All_ of it!"

"You've gotta be shitting me," Dean snapped. "Is that-?"

"James, no, run!" Aileen urged, holding a hand up towards the human. "Get out-"

"Wessen?" Rán echoed. Though the tone of her voice rang like warning bells, Wessen seemed to be the only one unaware of it. Her eyes, when Sam turned back to the goddess, were lit with maddened delight. "So. _You're_ the one who stole my gold."

"No, it's _my_ gold!" he shouted back, now brandishing the gun in her direction with a wild gesticulation. "How did you get it out? Give it back!"

Sam groaned. Why had he even bothered trying to save the human from Crowley, when he was so desperate to destroy himself? It shook Sam to hear the same insanity, the same obsession, coming from Wessen exactly as Rán had been on her maddened spree. "You idiot," he seethed. "Be quiet!"

"You want it back?" Rán asked, eyes wide with an innocence that only made her more terrifying in its falseness. She turned to the side, gesturing to the vast ocean. "It's in the water."

Wessen didn't even hesitate. With the same blind greed as Rán herself, the human plunged into the surf.

"James!" Aileen cried out, blanching with horror. "No, you don't understand! You're in danger!"

He paid her no attention, bent nearly double as he splashed around in the breakers. The gun was forgotten as Wessen dropped it so both hands were free to search. Soon he was chest deep, and only then did he turn back to the goddess with a scowl.

"Where is it?" he demanded, indistinguishable from the monster the Winchesters were hunting.

Rán's smirk grew colder. "Oh… a little further out," she said. The goddess held a hand up; another wave knocked Wessen off his feet, tilting him face first into the ocean. He spluttered, arms thrashing as he surfaced again, several yards back.

"Wait… what-?"

"No, no. Keep going."

Sam saw it in Wessen's eyes as the man finally registered the riptide he was caught in.

"No!" Aileen darted forward, peeling off her jacket. Sam lunged after her and grabbed the elemental around the middle, hauling her back away from the water's edge.

"It's too late!" he murmured. "Aileen… it's too late."

"Don't swim against it!" she shouted anyway. "James, you have to go across!"

He wasn't listening, too consumed by panic, but Sam doubted it would have helped anyway. Not when this riptide was a supernatural one, inspired by a vengeful goddess who would see Wessen drowned no matter what. They could do nothing but watch as the man slipped farther and farther out to sea, hollering and screaming as he went.

It didn't take long for exhaustion to set in, and when he finally fell silent, out of sight, Sam closed his eyes. So much for Wessen.

"Now then," Rán snapped, harsh voice breaking the brief pause in the chaos as she turned back to the three. "As for _you_ -"

"Die, bitch!"

Dean's driftwood stake plunged into the goddess's chest, blood spurting from the exit wound as she was impaled all the way through. Rán's scream rose high with rage at the unexpected attack, so sharp that Sam had to clap his hands over his ears in pain. Dean stood before her, grim and fierce as he wrenched the stake back out. The red-stained tip glistened in the moonlight. When she turned towards him and grabbed the hunter with both hands, though, Dean's expression fell.

Still shrieking, the goddess threw Dean away from her, waves pouring over the hunter so that he was pinned down under the weight and the brutality of the water. The mocking moue was gone from her face, replaced by berserk wrath. The stake hadn't even slowed her down.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, hurrying forward with Aileen on his heels. He watched Dean try to stand back up, only to be thrust under once again. "Dean, hold on!"

Rán's expression was livid as she turned on Sam next, flinging both him and Aileen backwards into the shallow waves. The elemental was holding as much of it back as she could, but Sam felt the cold certainty creep into his heart that this time, they wouldn't be escaping.

Then, over the sound of the ocean and the ever-looming wall of water, now nearly upon them, Sam heard the sudden unmistakable jangle of metal coins. He gasped, swiping his hand over his face to clear the water droplets. The relentless breakers fell still with a splash as Rán's attention shifted to something in the foam, releasing the three.

Sam watched as the goddess dove forward, landing on her knees in the shallows as she scooped up handfuls of coins in unearthly ecstasy. _Gold_ coins. But where…?

The sudden flash of silver drew his attention behind Rán. Sam lurched to his feet, eyes widening in relief and surprise as Cas struck down with his angel blade. The goddess's scream once again filled the night. Blood flowed freely in a twin rivulet to the stain already left by Dean's attack, and still she didn't go down.

"Angel!" she shrieked, grabbing Cas by the lapels and bearing the dismayed warrior down beneath her in the water. Her fists flew, ferocious as she pummeled the angel.

His mind raced with panic—not only because his best friend was under attack, but because of the sudden realization that Cas had just hit her with the angel blade… and it had done nothing. Rán was obviously in pain, but she was still alive.

"Why didn't that work?" Aileen whispered, white face stark against the looming tsunami that would reach the shore within minutes. "Wasn't that supposed to do it?"

 _Trying to kill me while I'm standing here in my natural element…_ Unbidden, Rán's earlier taunt sprang back to Sam's racing thoughts. He paused, watching as Dean leaped to his feet and tried to tackle the goddess off of Cas.

"She's in her element," Sam murmured out loud. His eyes narrowed. Wait a minute. "Opposing elements cancel each other out. That's what you said, right?"

"Where are you going with this? Sam, we have _minutes_!"

Sam held his hands up to his head, trying to block out the roaring of the incoming wave and the sound of Rán beating his brother and best friend. He needed to think, damn it. "What's an opposing element of water? Fire? No, water douses fire. Earth?" Wait- that was it! "Earth, Aileen! It's earth!"

Aileen stared at him, but her frustration quickly shifted to dawning realization. "She can't travel on land. She can only move through the water."

"We can't kill her in her element, but if we get her on dry ground…"

Sam turned back to the battle, the fight returning to him. He raced forward, yelling to his brother, "Dean! Get her on the beach! Cas, your blade!"

They were such so accustomed to fighting as a team that neither stopped to ask him why. Dean grabbed Rán by an arm at the same time Sam collided with them, both humans using all their strength to force the shrieking goddess away from the shallows and onto the sand. Aileen was behind them, holding the seeping waves away in a broad circle around the struggling trio.

Cas moved like lightning. Snatching his blade up from where it had fallen into the surf, the angel swept in and struck. Sam didn't even flinch at the squelch of the sword piercing her throat, or the hot spatter of blood in his face from their proximity. He barely even registered the gurgle as she tried to scream when the blade was yanked back out, or the blinding flash of celestial wrath that sparked from her body.

All Sam registered was the nearby rush of water as the tsunami collapsed harmlessly down into a suddenly tranquil sea. All he noticed was the weight of the goddess's body as she writhed in his grip, before falling, finally, in death.


	13. Chapter 13

Dean stared at the dead body on the sand, hardly daring to move just in case she jumped back up again. When the last echoing roar of the falling tsunami had faded into nothing, the four were still watching the goddess in trepidation. A light aqua glow surrounded her still form, and then Rán disintegrated into sea water. Dean jumped back in surprise, watching wide-eyed as the water stained the sand, already starting to soak in.

Beside him, Sam cleared his throat. "Uh… I guess we won?"

"It would seem so," Cas murmured, before suddenly listing sideways into Dean.

Gasping, Dean caught his friend and braced him, but Cas's feet seemed unable to hold him up. The angel staggered and then winced.

"Cas?" Dean demanded. "Hey! Cas, hey, come on, man. Don't check out on us yet." He cursed as he pulled his hand away from the angel's shoulder, palm dripping in blood. Shit, in the heat of the moment, he had completely forgotten about the blade. "Okay. Hey, you're okay, we're gonna patch you up, alright?"

"But…" Aileen spoke up, voice small and worried. "I don't understand. He healed me like it was nothing. Can't he just…?"

"That's from an angel blade," Sam explained as he stepped over to Cas's other side and pulled the angel's arm over his tall shoulders. "It's not that simple."

"Aileen," Cas muttered, making them all lean in to hear. "I should thank you. Otters..." He trailed off as his eyes glazed over. It was hard to get a good look at his wound or his pallor in the dark, but his voice was disturbingly faint.

Dean shook his head, not caring if it was otters or angels or the Abominable Snowman who had rescued Cas, just grateful that his friend wasn't still trapped somewhere on the bottom of the ocean.

"Alright, buddy," he said, looping Cas's other arm over his shoulder. "We're gonna get you to a motel or something, 'kay? Hang in there. Sam."

Sam nodded, already understanding, and together they helped the angel make his way back up towards the research station. Aileen trailed behind them; it took Dean a second to realize that the strange sound he heard was her teeth chattering. Only then did it occur to him that he was once again freezing cold from the frigid ocean water temperatures.

"Aileen, hang in there," he called over his shoulder. "Can you do that trick with the water temperature again?"

"Dean," Sam hissed from Cas's other side. Dean peered around the angel to see his brother giving him a warning shake of his head.

"What?" he grumbled back.

"I'm sorry," the elemental answered with a sigh. "Um… I'm kinda wiped out. I don't think-"

"Don't worry about it, Aileen," Sam said, shooting Dean another remonstrative look. "You've done more than enough."

Right, she only had a limited supply of mojo, Dean remembered. Not unlike Cas, at the moment. His heart clenched at the thought, hearing the ragged, pain-filled breaths from the angel he was supporting. How far along the beach had Cas had to walk to reach them? How much blood had he lost in that time? Dean was amazed the angel had rallied the strength to fight at all.

Well, no, he wasn't amazed. Cas was that kind of guy.

They'd reached the parking lot now, and Dean stared around in dismay as he pulled to a stop.

"Uh, Sam? Where's my baby?"

His brother cursed, adjusting his grip on Cas. "Still at Wessen's. But he must have come in- yeah, there. I think that's his car."

"You _left_ the Impala at-"

"You were about to die, Dean."

Somehow, Dean didn't have the heart to grumble any further, hearing the residual fear in his brother's voice. When Cas sagged in their arms, Dean gave himself a shake. The Impala could wait. More important things to worry about.

"Any port in a storm," he decided, guiding the angel towards Wessen's car. The guy had apparently been in such a big hurry to get down to the beach that he'd left the motor on. Fortunately, that spared Dean from needing time to hot-wire it with numb fingers.

Aileen hurried ahead of them to pull the back door open, then stepped back as Dean and Sam eased Cas into the backseat. The angel gritted his teeth, obviously trying to bite back the moan of pain as the motion jarred his shoulder.

"Sam," Dean said, giving his brother a pointed look.

Sam nodded, then moved briskly around the car so he could slide in next to the angel. Dean heard him murmur some comforting words, before shutting the door and motioning for Aileen to claim the front passenger seat.

"He'll be okay, right?" the elemental whispered now that Cas was out of hearing range.

"He's had worse." Way worse. Not that this was exactly a comforting thought, but Dean was trying to hold on to that reminder, that Cas was tough enough to have survived stab wounds from angel blades before. Way too many times, when it came down to it. He'd survive this, too.

Or at least, Dean thought with a twist in his gut, Cas had _better_ survive this, too.

Sliding into the driver's seat, Dean turned the heat up full blast and activated the heated seats for good measure. His own teeth were chattering now, but the warm burst of air from the vents at least gave him a breath of relief. Aileen was cupping her hands over the vent, still shivering; if Dean's jacket hadn't been soaking wet, he would have offered it to her, but it was likely to do more harm than good.

"Everyone in?" Dean asked, twisting in his seat to catch Sam's eye. His brother glanced down at Cas—slumped over against the window with his eyes closed—and nodded grimly.

"Hurry," was all Sam said.

Dean needed no further prodding. Trying to keep the ride smooth and steady, he nevertheless drove as fast as he dared back towards the town. He'd noted the motels as they'd driven in, by sheer force of habit, and he made for the nearest one. It wasn't a long ride, just long enough to start feeling like he wouldn't die from hypothermia after all.

"Alright," Dean said as he pulled into a parking spot outside the motel front office. "Sam, I used up the last of my cards. You got one?"

"Oh. Yeah, hang on…"

While Sam dug through his wallet, Dean avoided Aileen's curious gaze. He tried to grab the offered credit card before she could see that the name was definitely not Winchester, but the expression on her face told him he hadn't been fast enough.

"What?" he demanded, aware of the defensiveness in his voice but too stressed to care. "It's not like we get _paid_ to save the world."

"I didn't say anything," she protested. "Just hurry, Mr… Kaiser."

Dean didn't respond, just glanced back in the rearview at Cas's huddled form. He nodded, then silently hurried out of the car and into the office.

By the time Dean paid for the room and stepped back outside with the keys, the back door was already open. Sam was still in the backseat with Cas, but Aileen was standing outside, leaning into the car with a sense of urgency in her voice.

"Castiel? Castiel!"

Dean's heart stuttered with fear as he ran the last few steps over to the car. "Cas?!" he called. The angel's eyes were closed, and if he was breathing, it was too shallow to visibly see his chest rise and fall. "Cas, stay awake!" he added, sliding an arm past Aileen into the car to give the angel's cheek a rough pat.

"'m awake," Cas slurred. His eyelids fluttered open. "You're freezing."

The angel raised a hand and touched two fingers to Aileen's forehead. She jerked in surprise, then glanced down at herself, dry and warm once again. The move clearly cost him. Cas's head lolled forward as he tried to reach for Dean next, but the hunter grabbed his wrist.

"No way," he snapped. "Save your strength, Cas. Me and Sam will be fine, let's just get you inside so we can take care of that wound, alright?"

It was too late. Cas had already passed out, tipping forward so that Dean had to brace all of his weight until Sam could hurry around to help share the load. Together, they managed to maneuver the angel out of the car and into the motel room. They deposited him onto the bed as gently as they could, then paused to take stock.

"All our supplies are in the Impala," Sam pointed out as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Not to mention a change of clothes." Despite Dean's assurance to Cas, it would be a lot easier to work on patching the angel up once he was thawed out all the way.

"I'm already dry," Aileen said, gaze still fixed on the motionless angel on the bed. "I can go pick up your car while you start taking care of him."

One look at Cas's white face stopped Dean from any protest, and besides, he'd trusted Aileen with his life… he could trust her with his car. He nodded to Sam to hand over the Impala's keys then hurried for the bathroom to grab any towels he could find. By the time he got back into the room, Aileen was gone and Sam was already peeling back Cas's trench coat and loosening the knot of his tie.

"Think we should even bother with stitches?" the younger hunter asked as the two shifted the jacket and dress shirt aside enough to see the actual wound.

Dean exhaled in sharp dismay at the hole piercing all the way through Cas's body. The freezing water had probably helped slow down blood loss, and some of the blood had congealed around the edges, which he thought _might_ already be closing. It must have been agonizing, though, to have the blade driven straight through his celestial form as well as his body. Despite the chill still plaguing him, Dean's blood heated with anger and guilt. Why was Cas always having to suffer for helping the Winchesters?

"Dean?" Sam prodded.

"Don't know," the hunter replied. "Depends how long it takes his mojo to kick in. Guess we'll just clean him up and pack on the towels to keep him from bleeding more, to start. He's more angel than human now, so… maybe just bandaging it will be enough."

Sam nodded, and the two got to work. Cleaning Cas up as best as they could, the brothers didn't speak again until the angel was as dry and comfortable as they could make him for the time being. That done, Dean stepped back and wearily ran a hand down his face.

"Okay," Sam spoke up, turning towards Dean and holding out a hand. "Your turn. Let's see them."

"See what?"

His brother only gave him a look, tinged with worry. "Dean. Please." His eyes slid to Dean's hands, expression of concern deepening.

Oh… right. Trying to fight while tied up usually did some damage. Dean's face softened as he shook his head. "It's fine. The belt was over my jacket," he assured his brother, but as the anxiety in Sam's eyes heightened, Dean obligingly held his hands out.

Gingerly, Sam slid Dean's coat sleeves out of the way to look at the skin underneath. Though the jacket had saved Dean from getting cut up by the leather when he struggled against the bonds, it couldn't stop him from bruising. Dean hadn't even realized that his wrists were aching until Sam ran a thumb over the flesh to check for any small lacerations.

"Sam," Dean said, a little louder to catch his brother's attention. "I promise. I'm fine. It's no big deal."

Still, those bruises were standing out in angry relief, belying his words, proving how hard he'd been fighting to get free… and how terrifying the situation had been. An involuntary shudder crept up Dean's spine as he remembered the exhaustion of trying to keep himself up in that tiny air bubble, the paralyzing reality that he was half an inch away from death.

Of all the ways he might someday go out, Dean hoped it was a fate much quicker than drowning.

Sam cleared his throat, a much more emotional sound than it should have been, and his voice trembled ever so slightly as he said, "Well, it, uh… it doesn't look like they need to be cleaned up. Maybe just iced."

Dean wanted to groan in frustration and protest again that he was _fine_ , but Sammy was obviously upset. And for good reason; he could have lost both Cas and Dean in one night. The mere thought of seeing _Sam_ in that water tank was enough to make Dean slack with horror, so he would let his brother do whatever he thought he could to make things better.

"Yeah, ice would be good," he agreed.

"I'll go get some."

Sam disappeared out the door, grabbing the ice bucket as he went, while Dean turned back to the comatose angel on the bed. Yeah… he knew the terror of coming close to losing a brother.

The ice did a little for Dean's wrists and a lot for Sam's peace of mind, which made it all worth it. The swelling was even starting to go down a bit by the time they heard the familiar rumble of the Impala outside. The angel was still pale and drawn, only a soft groan of pain in his sleep occasionally assuring them that he was alive. Dean kept one hand latched on Cas's wrist—partly to offer silent support to the angel, partly to keep an eye on his pulse—while Sam hurried outside to grab their duffels and first aid kit.

Dean didn't want to leave Cas's side long enough to take a hot shower and change into something dry, but getting sick himself wasn't going to do the angel a bit of good. He did feel better afterwards, letting Sam swap out to also warm up and dry off, but he wasn't about to relax until he saw some signs that Cas's body was definitely healing itself.

"Is there anything I can do?" Aileen asked, standing next to Dean as they watched the angel sleep.

He shook his head, finally twisting to regard the elemental.

"You've done plenty," he said. "More than enough. Actually, I haven't even thanked you yet."

Aileen waved a hand to brush him off, but Dean wasn't going to accept that.

"I'm serious," he insisted. "We couldn't have done this without you. The whole damn city would be gone right now, and Cas…" Dean shuddered, still not sure what exactly Rán had done to the angel, but shaken by the thought of his best friend trapped in the ocean all alone. What if Dean hadn't been able to keep his promise, that they would always come back for the angel? What if Cas had never escaped, waiting for the rest of time for them to come help him?

Dean pressed his palms against his eyes, letting the images dissolve into starbursts. He needed to stop thinking about this. Cas _wasn't_ still trapped, he _was_ safe, and that was what mattered.

"I gotta admit," the elemental spoke up lightly. "I never imagined myself helping an angel. Still can't get used to that."

Dean smiled and looked up at her again, about to assure her that angels weren't even the craziest things out there, when he realized that she was on the verge of toppling over. Getting to his feet, Dean pulled Aileen against him in an impulsive hug, cradling her head in a way that reminded him achingly of Charlie.

"Thank you," he murmured, low and fervent.

She didn't respond, but after a surprised second, returned the gesture.

Finally, before the whole scene could get too emotional, Dean cleared his throat and pulled away.

"Okay, time for someone to have a nap," he ordered, leaving no room for argument.

"I'm fine-"

"Bed. Now. Get some sleep, seriously," Dean said, pointing to the other bed. "If your mojo is anything like Cas's, you'll charge up a lot faster if you're resting, right?" He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to argue, and completely prepared to go full big-brother mode if need be. Aileen hesitated, but her weariness was obvious.

"Oh, fine," she grumbled, but Dean only smirked. By the time she'd crawled under the covers and laid her head on the pillow, she was already asleep.

Now, Dean thought as he turned back to his best friend, still and pale on the bed, there was nothing to do but wait.

* * *

 

Castiel awoke to a low, deep throb in his shoulder where the blade had nailed him to the ship's mast. He couldn't move his hands, and his first instinct was to panic until he realized it wasn't ropes binding his arms but only a blanket tucked in close to offer warmth. Castiel opened his eyes.

"About time you decided to wake up," Dean grumbled, though his countenance seemed to lighten as he looked down at the angel.

Castiel blinked, taking in his surroundings. Dean was sitting in a chair beside him, while Sam was in another at the foot of the bed, leaning forward with a relieved expression. Twisting his head, Castiel saw Aileen sleeping soundly in a second bed. He didn't recognize the room, but he'd been hunting with the boys often enough to determine this was one of those motels they were apt to find.

"What happened?" Castiel asked. It came out croaky, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you three uninjured?"

"We're fine," Sam assured him. "How's the shoulder?"

Castiel looked down at the bandages held snugly in place, evaluating. "Healing," he finally said. Both the boys sat back, the tension visibly lifting from their tight postures. A flutter of warmth burned in his chest at their concern. "It may take some time to fully recover," he warned them, though Dean brushed this off.

"But you will, right? That's all that matters." He paused, then added, "It _was_ just the shoulder, wasn't it? We couldn't find any more wounds, but…"

Castiel nodded. "Yes. I suppose I was lucky, in the end. Rán was more interested in the gold than in me." Unlike some enemies he had faced, who would have taken much more pleasure in hurting him or the Winchesters first.

"Speaking of gold," Dean said, giving the angel a puzzled look. "You used some to distract her, didn't you? Where the hell did you find it? Where did she leave you?"

Castiel's face darkened, not caring to recall the dark, ominous world of the ocean floor or the reminders of Lucifer it had invoked. "A ship," he replied simply. "A sunken ship. I believe it was quite old, still undiscovered by human divers. It must have been a trading vessel at one point. The cargo hold was filled with coins and other things."

The swim back to shore had not been pleasant with his injury, nor had the long race along the coast to reach them again while hacking up lungfuls of water. Castiel was grateful that the otters had stuck around long enough to point the disoriented angel in the right direction before heading back out to sea. From the proximity of the rogue wave to shore, they had defeated Rán just in time.

Dean was shaking his head, snorting. "Freakin' sea otters, man," he muttered. "Now I've seen everything."

Castiel smiled, too worn out from his grace still attempting to heal him further to make any sort of comment. He tilted his head towards the other bed again, asking,

"And you're sure she's not hurt?"

"Just sleeping it off," Sam assured him. "She used up all her energy to help us. Why don't you rest, Cas? We're not leaving any time soon, so you might as well get some sleep and let your body heal."

Castiel wanted to protest, but he was not inflicted with false pride anymore: he _did_ need to rest in order to let his grace do its job. Even at full strength, a wound from an angel blade wasn't something he could shrug off. Already, fatigue was pulling him back into the darkness. Castiel stopped resisting. From somewhere to his left, Dean's voice guided him down into blissful sleep:

"Don't worry, we'll be right here."


	14. Chapter 14

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Sam asked once again, watching Aileen for any sign of hesitancy. There was none. "We're not in a hurry. There's no reason to just leave you here by yourself."

Aileen smiled in the warm California sunlight and shook her head. "Go," she urged him. "I'll be fine. Colin's flight will be here any time and Dad's going to have the equipment down here by tomorrow."

Right. Probably being around when the boyfriend was told the whole story was not a good idea. He might not be quite as understanding about how the entire thing had started out.

A plane rumbled overhead, temporarily blocking out the nearby sound of traffic coming to and from the airport just over the hill from where the Impala sat parked. "So how does this work now?" Sam couldn't help but ask, peering over Aileen to the Pacific Ocean glittering in the afternoon glow. He grinned. "You, what, ask the otters where they found Cas, then make a miraculous archeological discovery?"

Aileen laughed. "Happens all the time," she assured him. "If that boat is as old as Castiel said, it could be an important find. No sense leaving it at the bottom of the ocean. Besides, who would believe that a bunch of sea otters led us there?"

Sam shook his head and snorted. "You certainly have an interesting life."

"Says the guy with an angel in the backseat and the King of Hell on speed-dial?"

He laughed. "Yeah, good point. Alright, well, if you're sure."

"Positive. Go take care of Castiel." Her voice dropped as she leaned over to look at the car before whispering, "He'll definitely be okay, then?"

Sam nodded, smiling at her concern. It was obvious that she and the angel had bonded, for which Sam was also grateful; Cas needed friends. "The wound was already looking better this morning. It's starting to heal itself, which means his angel grace is kicking in. He'll be good as new in a couple more days." He set a hand on the elemental's shoulder. "Thanks to you."

Aileen smiled and looked down, almost shyly. "Oh, you know… no biggie."

"No, seriously," Sam said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Thank you. For both of them."

The elemental met his eyes again, a look of understanding passing between them. Sam didn't even want to imagine how things might have gone down without her there. He was going to miss having Aileen around, though she would have her work cut out for her.

"Come on," he said, turning back towards the car. "Dean and Cas will want to say goodbye, too."

He led the way back to the Impala where Dean and Cas were waiting. Dean sat behind the wheel, drumming his thumbs along with the rock beat blasting from the stereo, though he turned it down as Aileen leaned over to look in the window.

"All set?" the hunter asked. "Your boyfriend's gonna be here to meet you?"

"Any time now," she confirmed. "Dean… thanks for the, um… adventure. Just what I needed. I mean, I don't get enough of it on my own or anything."

"Please, you know you loved the whole life or death thing," Dean teased.

Aileen grinned. "Stay out of trouble, 'kay?"

"You too, kiddo."

Moving on to the backseat, Aileen leaned down to peer inside. The seat was lined with stolen pillows from the motel, allowing Cas to recline comfortably and keep his shoulder from jarring too much on the way back. Sam traded a look with Dean as the angel struggled to sit up, eyes lit.

"Aileen," he said. "I'm glad I've finally met an elemental. You've certainly proven to be everything they were meant to be."

"And I'm glad to have met an angel," Aileen returned. "And… same."

This time, it was Cas's turn to glance aside, though Sam could see his face lightening at the compliment.

"Good luck with all the Heaven stuff," she added, before straightening and taking a step back. "Bye, guys."

Sam gave her a nod, then moved around to claim his own spot beside Dean. His brother twisted around one last time towards Aileen to give her a wave, when the elemental suddenly called out,

"Oh, and if you could do me one more favor?"

"You name it," Dean called back.

"Uh… make sure those turtles get to a clean lake somewhere?"

Sam frowned, baffled, before remembering what she was talking about. He burst out laughing—the turtles she had rescued from the lake in Kansas were still sitting in a cardboard box in their library. Dean groaned and peeled off down the road, pointing the Impala towards home at last.

* * *

 

Castiel had never been what humans referred to as a "good patient", though he was doing his best not to let his impatience interfere with the healing process. His shoulder was getting better, albeit slowly; much slower than it would have before. But this wasn't the first injury he'd sustained since losing his grace, and the angel could almost look at the situation without a trace of bitterness.

It was what it was, as Dean had said in the past. There was nothing Castiel could do about the state of his grace, other than to keep his vessel as healthy as possible, so that was what he focused on. Better to worry about what he _could_ affect.

"How is choking down rabbit food supposed to be helping him?" Dean demanded in the Bunker's kitchen, squaring off with Sam.

"They're _vegetables,_ Dean! Some people eat vegetables! It's nutrients-"

"He's an _angel_. If you're gonna make him food, at least make it a _warrior's_ meal!"

"What, like your heart attack between two buns? That's supposed to do him any good?"

Castiel watched the exchange with a trace of a smile playing on his face. The irritation of being laid up was slowly fading away in the face of the comfortable, familiar feel of the brothers arguing. How strange, he mused, that listening to bickering could make him feel better. It was different from the arguments of angels, which tended to involve more celestial power being thrown around.

"Cas, back me up here," Dean snapped, whirling towards the angel. "Wouldn't you rather have a thick, juicy burger than a plate full of leaves?"

Ah, this argument was more enjoyable to listen to than to participate in. Castiel looked past the brothers towards the TV that sat on the counter, and changed the subject:

"It appears our misadventure made the news."

Debate forgotten, both Winchesters turned. Dean leaned in and turned up the volume, allowing the news story to be clearly heard.

"Scientists are still puzzled by the anomaly. Several instruments from various data collection sites along the coast all picked up the same readings, predicting what should have been a massive rogue wave crashing into the California coast somewhere around Santa Cruz. No such wave was ever seen, however, and it appears that whatever caused the anomaly disappeared as randomly as it came."

"We can't explain it," another man said, the banner at the bottom identifying him as an oceanographer for a coastal agency. "Had it been only our instrumentation giving us these readings, I would have written it off as a glitch in the system, or some kind of gross miscalibration. But to have the data corroborated by several cooperating agencies… well, it just doesn't make sense."

"Regardless of what caused the malfunction," the newscaster went on, "we're told that the size of the tsunami, had it been real, would have been enough to wipe out the city of Santa Cruz. While the bafflement continues, so does the gratitude that this _wasn't_ a real event."

"You're welcome," Dean told the TV, before turning it off. "You know, when I said I wanted a beach vacation, that wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind."

"Hey, we could always go back," Sam offered with a smirk. "We could pop in on the Donovans' excavation, do some scuba diving-"

"Hah. Hah. You're hilarious."

Castiel sat back in the chair, reeling from how close they'd come to such a terrible disaster. True, it _hadn't_ come to pass, and true, he'd at least been strong enough to help destroy the goddess, but…

"Cas?"

He looked up to see Sam watching him with a careful eye. Beside him, Dean stood with a suddenly serious face. Castiel looked away.

"I'm afraid I wasn't much use-"

"I'm gonna stop you there," Dean interrupted, pulling out the other chair so he could sit across the small table from Castiel. "Really? You saved my life. You let yourself get caught, protecting me. You swam god knows how far and ran god knows how long, bleeding out, I might add, to help kill her. You held her off long enough for Sam to figure out how to gank the bitch, and then you stabbed her with the same blade she'd run _you_ through with. So, uh, not sure where you're getting this 'not much use' bullshit from."

"Cas, you get that everything that happened… that wasn't you just 'helping', right?" Sam added. "It wasn't like we did the work and you kinda helped. We're a team. You, us, Aileen, we did that together. Without any one of us…" He trailed off, then gestured to the TV. "Let's just say, it'd be a very different ending to that story."

"We need you, Cas," Dean stated. "And you came through, like you always do."

Their words were comforting, but the angel felt suddenly self-conscious. "I'm sure you tire of telling me this-"

"No," both voices raised at once.

"We'll say it as often as we need to remind you," Sam added. "Seriously, man. We should have never given you reason to doubt it in the first place. But you're one of us."

One of them. To be a part of something, to have a family based on loyalty instead of obedience… sometimes Castiel still had to take a moment to process that, and how good it felt.

Healing would come. And in the meantime, Castiel had his family to watch out for him.

* * *

Dean kicked his feet back and grabbed his beer off the table, ready to settle in for a well-deserved night off with Sam and the football game on TV. Cas's shoulder had finally healed up a couple of weeks ago and the angel was currently up in Heaven for another meeting—Dean had suggested Cas show off his win over Rán to remind the feathered dicks that he was still a badass to be respected—and the brothers were waiting up for news of how things had gone.

Sam tossed a bag of chips his direction, which Dean caught and opened with relish, ready to dive in to the snacks.

He was interrupted by a banging knock on the front door, which made both the hunters freeze. Dean frowned; Cas didn't have to knock, and only a handful of others even knew where the Bunker was. He got to his feet, instinctively grabbing the gun that was never far out of reach. Couldn't be too careful.

Sam gave him a silent nod, following behind his brother and snagging a blade from a nearby case as the two made their way up the stairs. Dean paused at the top, getting his pistol situated so that he could use it quickly if necessary, then opened the front door just a crack.

A girl with spiked blonde hair stood at the doorstep, grinning. "I come in peace," she announced. "Please don't shoot me or chain me up in your dungeon."

Dean frowned and cocked his gun behind his back. "Who are you?" he demanded, opening the door a bit wider so that Sam could move forward to see the newcomer. Her eyes slid to the younger Winchester, narrowing a bit with a thoughtful light.

"Tall," she stated, eyeing Sam. Her gaze shifted back to Dean. "And suspicious. So you must be Dean, and this one is Sam. My name's Sylphie. Aileen sent me."

Dean's eyes widened as Sam pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"Aileen?" Sam demanded. "Is she alright?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine," Sylphie assured them. "Just too busy to bring this to you herself." She held up the thick, padded envelope she was carrying, giving it a little wave. Dean took it, still watching the strange girl with shrewd eyes, trying to determine if she was on the level. The blonde met his gaze with a wry look.

"She said you'd take some convincing. Look, I'm one of the good guys."

Sylphie twirled her finger in the air; the dry leaves scattered around the front door swirled off the ground in a whirlwind of red and brown, making the hunters stumble back in shock.

"What the-" Dean blurted out. "How did you…?"

"Wait. You're an elemental, too!" Sam exclaimed, stowing the dagger he'd brought.

"Right," Sylphie confirmed with a laugh. "Air. I was just passing through on a tornado chase, so she said I should make sure this gets to you. Also some other guy. Uh, Castiel? Some funny name like that?"

Dean was still trying to process all of this, staring at the stranger, so Sam stuttered,

"Uh… yeah, he's not here. Sorry, um, do you wanna come in?"

"You're chasing a tornado?" Dean asked. Sylphie gave him another impish grin.

"Hopefully. And no, sorry, I'd better get back to my team. Later, guys!"

"Uh… bye?"

They watched as Sylphie breezed back up to the road and hopped onto a motorcycle. Neither moved as she roared off, waiting until the last echoes of the engine had disappeared. Dean stared down at the envelope in his hands.

"So, that was weird."

"What is it?" Sam asked, gesturing to the package.

Dean stepped back inside the Bunker, letting the door close behind him as he pushed the de-cocking lever on his gun. He led the way back down the stairs, dropping the weapon on the table and examining the envelope. Ripping it open, Dean pulled out a sheet of folded paper.

"It's a note," he murmured, unfolding the paper. "Dear Sam, Dean, and Castiel… huh, says they've finished excavating that boat, lots of science-y words, hopes we're well, and…" Dean trailed off, reading the last bit silently. His eyes opened wide.

"What is it?" Sam prompted, grabbing the note away from Dean so he could read it for himself. "Turns out there was a lot of treasure still in the hold, and since Castiel is the one who found it, I thought the lion's share of the finder's fee should go to you guys. You know, since you don't get paid to save the world, haha. We kept enough to cover the cost of the excavation, but please accept this as our thanks for everything you do. Your share rounds up to about-"

The hunter's voice stuttered to a halt as he registered the figure that Aileen had written down. Sam gasped with shock, then grabbed the envelope away from Dean to open it the rest of the way. "Dude!"

"Right?"

" _Dude_!"

Dean laughed, pulling out the stacks of bills banded together neatly, rifling through one and taking a sniff. "Smell that, Sam? That's enough to keep Baby gassed up for the next ten years!"

"Holy- I can't believe she did that!" Sam gasped. "That's- this-"

"Thank you, Aileen Donovan," Dean murmured, shaking his head. His brain couldn't quite process this, dazed by the unexpected windfall.

Money in the coffers, a beer and a game in his future, Cas doing his stuff in Heaven but on his way home soon, and good friends.

Hey, it wasn't the beach, but life was looking up.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I can't believe it's over! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's left me a review, or favorited, or just lurked and enjoyed ^_^ Once again, Aileen (and Sylphie) belong to Angela Wallace, I just borrowed the girls for my crossover with Elemental Magic! (Aileen features in books 1 and 2, Sylphie is 5 and 6) And this turned out to be so much fun that I'm not totally opposed to doing another one in the future, maybe to bring Sylphie deeper into the SPN world.
> 
> And again... danke, gracias, Спасибо, Хвала вам, bedankt, and any other language you might natively speak. Thank you to any anonymous reviewers who might leave me a note on this chapter, since I won't be able to respond to you. HUGE thank you to Aini NuFire for being the fantastic beta that she is!
> 
> Stay tuned... I'll be posting another fic before too long, focusing on Crowley and Cas, as a series of scenes of their evolving frenemy status, LOL ^_^
> 
> Peace!


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